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Just like the refinement of wine, a woman who cares for herself just gets more beautiful with time. Her confidence and grace adorns her before she even opens her mouth in wisdom. Her knowledge, experiences and good judgement create an ambiance of flair that is inviting and contagious. She has learned to listen to her body and respond to it accordingly. She’s beyond the cuteness of her 20s. She’s attractive and pretty-over 40 and fabulous! She’s in her 50s and flawless-in her 60s and sassy! She’s in her 70s and spicy and the list goes on!
The above paragraph is an excerpt from a blog I posted in January 2021. It’s a viewpoint that is just as necessary today as it was the day I wrote it. It baffles me when beautiful women qualify their age with the term young. For example, a 58-year-old woman might say, “I am 58 years young.” To be clear, it’s not necessarily wrong to express one’s years in a descending manner. I just think there is a richness and integrity of life that is dismissed when you do. When a child is young, perhaps 3 for example, we say he or she is 3-years-old. The idea being that the child is young and has so much more life to live, but they are inexperienced and lack knowledge. But as we get older, being older has a negative connotation. But why? The problem is not with being old, it is in the state of mind that we attach to age.
I am 58-years-old and I am so thankful and proud of what each day has taught me…the lessons learned, the joys, pains and in-betweens of living, and loving reciprocally with my soulmate, the blessing of raising a family and the honor of watching them expand their own familial journeys, the blessing of prayer and communication with the Great Omniscient and Omnipotent One and the hope of life eternal in a peaceful new world.
I’ve come to appreciate that aging is all about how we choose to live and how we choose to embrace life. Aging and getting older can be synonymous of goodness and positivity, or diametrically different depending on how we view life, particularly our own.
Do you view aging as the blessing of another year, a time to be empowered to hone in on your mental and physical dispositions, and to respond favorably to health issues that may arise? Do you recognize that as you get older, you generally become wiser, more seasoned and more confident and comfortable in your own skin? Or do you view aging as an inevitable burden, a sign that the end is approaching? If the latter is how you view aging, [aka getting older] consider 64-year-old Angela Bassett who said it best,
“You look good for your age,” is not a compliment. “When we take care of ourselves, we do look good for our age, whatever age that is. If you think about it, the overused phrase, “You look good for your age,” is kind of a backhanded insult—why must age be a factor in someone’s beauty?”
Need more inspiration? Check out 85-year-old body builder Ernestine Shepherd. Come on now! She looks FABULOUS, HAPPY AND HEALTHY! Her motto is dedicated, determined and disciplined.
Ladies, don't get it twisted. It is the beliefs that we adopt as truths about aging and getting older that become our reality. When I reveal that I am 58-years-old, I see myself ascending to more purpose, more refinement and more self-fulfillment. The prospect of living another day is an opportunity to enjoy the inexcusable qualities of our Grand Creator.
It affords the joy of meditating on what the future holds and the words of the psalmist at Psalms 37:29
“The righteous will possess the earth, And they will live forever on it.”
Whether you choose to identify your age as years young or years old, please remember that it is not age that makes you look and feel old or young, it is how you respect or disrespect your mind and body that does. Be an active participant in your own reality. Be kind. Be compassionate. Be loving…because mental dis-ease causes physical disease. Choose to be Authentic, Genuine, Elegant. AGE – and as you get older…choose to live longer!
