How we age is more important than… how much
I turn 50 this year! Every time I think about it I feel daunted and a bit in awe of myself. I have been able to circumnavigate half a century of life on this planet. And I am still standing!
There has been significant wear and tear in the course of my journey but nothing that cannot be healed or worked around. And now when I teeter at the brink of the next half my life, I can’t help but wonder what lies ahead. But whatever does, this I know for a fact that I now have a bagful of lessons on my back to help me with the road ahead. Something I completely lacked in the first half of my life. And herein lies the paradox of aging!
Aging is usually seen in a bad light and has got a lot of bad rap. But when I look back at my younger self I don’t really see any distinct advantages that youth handed me as it pushed me out to meet life head on. But age definitely has, I have hindsight now which is always 20/20. Every hardship faced taught me how to work around it and now when faced with challenges I have a wealth of lessons to draw from. On the way I have also picked up amazing friendships and bonds which have stood the test of time, distance and life getting in the way. And these now serve as my cushion when the going gets tough. Something I lacked in my youth when friendships were still being formed and one was never sure where we were headed.
Age has also taught me a lot about myself. The most valuable education we can get in our lifetime. I know now what I like, dislike, what makes me uncomfortable, what gets me riled, what makes my heart race and what puts me to sleep. I also have invaluable insight into the kind of life, people and situations I want to surround myself with and an inkling of how to get this done. Earlier as a green horn I would jump at every opportunity and try it out to see how it tasted and of course there was a lot that had revolted my taste buds. But now having acquired a discerning palate I taste only what is delicious to me.
Then there are my priorities which have righted themselves. In my youth, lacking experience and knowledge about myself, I would make a lot of choices which created strife and trouble for me. But now that my priorities are set to happiness and peace of mind, my life circumstances have adjusted themselves to it. I now know that life flows from the inside out and not outside in. That is perhaps the biggest ammunition age has bequeathed to me.
As I sally forth into my 50’s I am now armed with wisdom, patience and a newly found appreciation of how faith can actually move mountains. I like to think that from a duck waddling around furiously I am now growing into a swan which glides around life’s currents gracefully and peacefully, secure in the knowledge that it has my back.I now have the ability to be gentle with life, people and myself. And no matter how harsh the circumstances I now have the ability to step back and look at it with compassion and deal with it wisely.
I became a healthy eater couple of years back in preparation of my 50’s and now I feel lighter, slimmer and better than I ever have. Having eaten every food group available and every drink imaginable in the last 30 years, I now no longer feel the need to eat or drink like there maybe a famine tomorrow. This has had such a positive impact on the multifarious allergies I picked up in my youth that I can only feel grateful that I have matured into a healthier version of me.
There is a lot of pressure on us old people to reclaim our youth, reverse our aging, get younger etc etc. However, I for one see no benefit in going back to the start. To me that’s like a giant diss to the life I have led so far. I would rather wear my age proudly with grace and look and feel the best in the current context. I would rather capture new experiences than recapture old ones. I would rather be a role model for the young than modeling myself on the young. I would rather skip and hop into my old age rather than exit my youth kicking and screaming. I would rather look forward to what’s ahead than look back at what has passed.