Growing Older
Thirty seven. 37. Trente sept. XXXVII.
Age has been at the forefront of my life now more than ever. It seems to matter a whole lot more when you are trying to have a baby. Advanced maternal age is stamped all over my paperwork. It reminds me a little of the Scarlet letter but it makes me wonder...
I wonder why growing older got a bad rep somewhere along the way.
Maybe it was the advancements in surgery or maybe it’s just having more limited definitions of beauty promoted on a larger scale, but aging has somehow become something to fight and deny. Our years shouldn't be something we dread or cover and resist. Age is life and it is who and where we are. To me, age goes hand in hand with understanding, experience, compassion and maturity. Every age is equally beautiful and at each age, our appearance shifts in diverse and special ways. I love silver hair and large wrinkly smiles. I think each age has its own palette and the worst thing a person can do is deny it to misrepresent their age.
One of the best parts of growing older is that you gain so much more perspective on yourself, your history and the world. Life grows richer, and everything has much more depth - food, music, emotions, love. Each year you live adds another piece toward making you a whole. The closer you get to it, the less scary the world becomes. Things start to make more sense and you let go of the false ideals and desires you held fast to in youth. You retain your original core but then many more layers are added and you become like a fine wine. Complex and full, enriched by every experience throughout your life.
You also become a special kind of time capsule. All that you've witnessed in your time gives you a special window into humanity. In my lifetime, I've witnessed so many amazing changes in the world and I am humbled and awed and nothing but optimistic.
Every stage of life is pivotal in some way, and should not be denied its value. To wish you were younger or older is to take yourself away from where you are right now. I embrace aging and I love to become wiser – to recognize how different each year makes a person – to see where and who I used to be and how much bigger I am now. I look to the future with openness and gratitude for all of my experiences and what they teach me. I hope we can all celebrate our next birthday or milestone with acceptance and optimism, for how much more rich we have already become.
One of the best parts of growing older is that you gain so much more perspective on yourself, your history and the world. Life grows richer, and everything has much more depth - food, music, emotions, love. Each year you live adds another piece toward making you a whole. The closer you get to it, the less scary the world becomes. Things start to make more sense and you let go of the false ideals and desires you held fast to in youth. You retain your original core but then many more layers are added and you become like a fine wine. Complex and full, enriched by every experience throughout your life.
You also become a special kind of time capsule. All that you've witnessed in your time gives you a special window into humanity. In my lifetime, I've witnessed so many amazing changes in the world and I am humbled and awed and nothing but optimistic.
Every stage of life is pivotal in some way, and should not be denied its value. To wish you were younger or older is to take yourself away from where you are right now. I embrace aging and I love to become wiser – to recognize how different each year makes a person – to see where and who I used to be and how much bigger I am now. I look to the future with openness and gratitude for all of my experiences and what they teach me. I hope we can all celebrate our next birthday or milestone with acceptance and optimism, for how much more rich we have already become.
I love growing older.
I turned 37 in August and I really do have to agree with you about the perks of getting older :)
ReplyDeleteWell said. I didn't really think about age that much until the year I turned 30. Then all of a sudden, I felt wiser and more grown up and mature. I had a completely different perspective on my life, and so far, it's been wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI love your thoughts on age and aging. Happy birthday - you've earned every candle!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday my dear, and very well said. I too always try to embrace where I am right now, each age has something wonderful about it. It would be a pity to miss it because one was so focused on the next or the last step.
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