What it means to be fifty-years-old seems to be changing in today’s world of better healthcare and diet, more active lifestyles, and anti-aging products and procedures. Fifty has been called the new forty, the new thirty, and get ready for this one, the new fifteen.
I was quite happy, really more relieved to find an article that challenged this idea of resetting your chronological age.
“Who are we kidding” says Dr. Vivian Diller, an expert on aging. She says, “Sure, being 50 today means something different than it did for our parents or grandparents — more of us are fit, active and expect to remain that way well into our 80s and 90s — but 50 to me, well, is simply the “new 50!“
I couldn’t agree with you more Dr. Diller.
What’s wrong with feeling and looking younger than your chronological age, you may be saying right now? I have nothing against feeling and looking younger than our age, as long as we continue to value where we are in our development.
There’s something beautiful, awe-inspiring and touching about the aging process and being a witness to the unfolding and completion of our own life journey. Accepting the challenges of each stage of our life cycle is vital to experiencing life as deeply meaningful and with spiritual purpose.
There’s more to aging well than just looking and feeling good. To feel fulfilled at the end of your life, you have to commit to furthering your psychological and spiritual growth, by living through the stages of your life cycle fully and gracefully.
I love the sentiment on a life well lived that is conveyed in T. S. Eliot’s poem the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. It is a poignant reflection of a man who feared emptiness at the end of his life because of his living choices. Here, is a stanza from this poem.
“I grow old … I grow old … shall I wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think they will sing for me.”
When you accept gracefully the lessons and wisdom of each life stage, you do not fear aging. There’s such contentment and wisdom in the faces of older people who have lived fully through each of their life stages. Recently, my family and I celebrated my mother’s 80th birthday. Three generations of family members spoke about her positive impact on their lives.
Like many of you, my mother’s life was by no means easy, but it has been deeply meaningful. She has gracefully learned the lessons of each stage of her life and opened herself to the physical, emotional and material changes that came her way. I am touched by the richness and beauty of her life. I’m happy to say, my mother can hear the mermaids singing to her.
So, accept and embrace your age and life stage fully. By all means, take every health measure you can to feel well at each stage of your life. But, don’t let your desire to stop time prevent you from getting the life experiences that will deepen you psychologically and spiritually.
If you like my post today, please say so by selecting the Like icon that immediately follows this article. I welcome your comments, insights and experiences with regard to today’s topic. Warmly, Deborah!
