Wisdom and the Aged.
When you purchase and use an anti-aging cream, what do you believe you’re telling your subconscious? Here are a few guesses:
I am afraid of looking old
I don’t have to grow old and age, I can defy nature
Aging is undesirable
I don’t like the way I look.
I was having dinner in Mammoth Lakes, California (a mountain town) with my husband and we were sat next to a table of women. They weren’t old, probably 50s, maybe 60s maybe even some 40 year olds. They looked like mountain women. They had sun exposure on their skin. They looked like they were serious badasses. I will look like that some day soon, I told myself. I was like them- mountaineers, skiers, mountain bikers, cyclists, rock climbers, hikers, backpackers, livers and lovers of life. While I have a skin care routine, I just kind of roll with my age, my looks and all those creases, wrinkles and spots. I did have a little moment where I thought that maybe it wasn’t too late to change course, but the thought quickly withered away as I dove into my glass of wine, with reckless abandon and pictured myself scaling mountains and skiing down the fluffy white slopes at the age of 50, 60 and 70 and if I make it that far, 80. And I will look like a woman who has spent her life in the mountains, without a doubt. And I will be proud of that.
Our society has done its best to shove our wise away— shove them out of our lives because they look old and they’re inconvenient to deal with. I do believe that this is one of the major causes of society’s ills. Our old people, forgotten and interned in nursing homes, can’t tell their stories because they’ve forgotten them, because they have dementia, because life has forgotten them as well.
We all need to be around people of all ages- babies to elders. It’s so important for us to learn from one another and share, and we simply don’t do enough of that. I’ve always had friends of all ages. I enjoy the diversity of being around people at different stages of life. The mix of youthful enthusiasm and aged wisdom. We all bring something valuable to the table.
Three things you can do to incorporate people of all ages into your life:
Follow someone 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60+ years older than you on Instagram. At least one in each decade.
Teach a skill to a child- math, music, how to build a fire, skiing, mountain biking, dancing.
Ask an elder to tell you a story about their life.
We don’t have to always be moving faster, making more, doing better, improving, getting ahead of everyone else. You have my permission to slow down, take a step or three back, and be present in the moment and in your own life.
namaste
~Tonya