Should we fight AGE or accept it?

winpie · Jun 24, 2009

'Aging gracefully' brings to mind a picture of a lady with graying hair, calm and dignified, apparently doing nothing to hide her age.

I am reaching that stage where effects of age are slowly showing - not just in the body but also in mind. Things that seemed very important a few years ago seem trivial today and those which I happily ignored seem vital. Some days, I find my mind suddenly stopping at one spot when it recognizes a change in thinking. At such times I find it so amazing that I am thinking thoughts that I would have laughed at not so long ago. And I wonder - hey, this is so unlike me! I never used to think like this!

When this change comes so sharply into focus the thought that follows it is - I don't want to be like this/ think like this. Of course the change in thoughts has already occurred and I stroll back in time trying to identify when and where that change occurred.

Some of the changes that I perceive make it seem imperative that I should go back to my previous ideas and that is when it comes to me - all these changes are related to age and life experiences. should I fight them or accept them?

Age and experience has meant that my confidence in my abilities is at its highest. Age also means that fear starts creeping in - the fear for life, health, whether we will achieve our dreams or not. Some people can not accept the physical changes that advancing years bring and go about desperately trying to hide them. On some, these attempts bring about sniggers behind their backs. Others are not bothered and go smoothly with the flow. That sometimes leads to giving up - on the effort to look their best - even to shabbiness.

So how do we strike a balance? There are some things that are better off left behind and then there are those we should try to carry along as long as we can. Will I be one of those who succeed in carrying along the 'right' things and discard the 'wrong' ones?

Only time will tell. And who knows, by the time what seems the 'right' thing to carry along will start feeling like the wrong thing and what is discarded as 'wrong' will be missed sorely!

Lalitha Shivaguru · Jun 24, 2009

Dear Winpie,

A very thoughtful post. My thinking is age is a normal process. Why should we fight against it. It is like swimming against the tides. If we accept the same gracefully, it is more easy to face life.

I am talking here of not only physical but our mental progress too. That is what we call as experience. When we were young which seems very important may look very trivial in our old age and we solve the same without a second thought..that is the mental maturity and experience we gain as age advances.

All said & done, as age advaces, we should be ready to accept the changes, adapt to the changes and adjust to our environment to lead a blissful happy life.

SeethaHari · Jun 24, 2009

Excellent thoughts.
Age comes to us without our notce. this is related to the body. But mind and heart and the ever active attitude is all what matters. yes good health is necessary to move ahead .
I personally feel age is not for the mind.
So trying to look young to the outside is one thing we need to take care of but even more important is our inside. To keep it young in thoughts and deeds.

Time and tide wait for none.

But as is said, " Everyday we wake up , god gives a daily gift - You open it and see -" 24 hours a day "

Already you have many talents and skills to your credit .
There is no age bar for living happy and contented.:thumbsup

Regards
Seetha

knot2share · Jun 25, 2009

Nice post and totally agree with all the comments here. Ageing
is something that comes normally and we just need to accept
it gracefully. Grooming ourselves to look younger - I sometimes
find this very difficult to accept. Some go totally over board on
this and that makes them look even worse than what they intend to.
It is like a mask people hide behind.

Being healthy, cheerful and young at heart will automatically
bring out the youth in us. We dont lose it, just because we have
aged. Opinions change over time and we become wiser in our own
way.

winpie · Jun 25, 2009

Hi Lalitha, Seetha & knots2share,
Good to hear your views. I have heard of "handsome is that handsome does". I feel there should be one like "Young is that young feels!!!!"
I have put some thoughts on other topics too - do go through those too and see if you like them.

Deaf woman · Jun 25, 2009

Dear winpie,
Growing old gracefully should be a personal decision and not to be influenced by others.If I want to look and feel young i should be prepared for sniggers too.As always if you flow against the tide there will be brickbats and some accolades too from our sympathisers.So the only thing we can do is try following how our mind directs us .

SHASHU · Jun 25, 2009

Dear Winpie,

Age is for the body and not for the mind. So it depends upon everyone's mind. I always consider myself "Devanand"s (hindi actor) sister - i.e "ALWAYS EVERGREEN" even though am 45+. Ha!! Ha!!

Regards

shashu

winpie · Jul 7, 2009

Hi Shashu,
Too true. I don't know about evergreen but mentally I feel ten years younger than bodily!

winpie · Jul 7, 2009

Hi Viji,
Missed your comment somehow. So much depends on our mental makeup. Some people don't mind what age they look - they are totally comfortable with what they are. Others always want to look 24 or 30 or 18 no matter what their bodies show of their age. The incredible ones are those whose bodies might be old but the spirit is so young that their physical age somehow never shows on their faces!

alka1960 · Jan 4, 2010

hi winpie
for me aging is a natural process of growing up which should be accepted gracefully. our efforts should be to allow the body to age not to rot . to achieve this we must keep physically fit to carry forward our life n let the mind stay young. by being young i don't mean visits to beauty parlours for those botox injections but to keep alive drive to learn some thing new on regular basis. this is what keep us young an alive