Age Is Really a State of Mind

Age Is Really a State of Mind

Wow, is this ever an awesome subject to write about!  Literally, my head is spinning with all the directions I can go.  But the one that stands out the most is how each of us deal with the changing sands of time with our outer looks versus our inner view.  Do we handle aging and the problems that come with it with grace or are we fighting, screaming and digging our claws in to that barren wasteland beneath us as we are dragged into the dark abyss known as “The Golden Years?”

As an adult I have always felt younger than I look and this has been by choice.  On the bio page I state that; “I choose to live life as a seven year old with eyes wide open with wonder to the world.” This attitude of a carefree child has made the bumps along my road easier to maneuver over especially as I look in the mirror and see my skin rapidly age before my eyes from the affects of prematurely being thrown into menopause as part of my treatment to fight cancer.  Yet, as I ask others “What to you is the perfect age?” the answers are rather surprising.  Not one other person chose 7 and the ages chosen became rather predictable.  The younger the person the younger the age.  Surprised?  Let me explain.

I asked my 14-year old son who’s answer was, “Sixteen, because I’ll be able to drive, have a job and still be strong and healthy to do all the physical activities I enjoy.”  Two 17-year-old girls both chose 21 because, “We are old enough to do everything yet young enough to not have all the responsibilities that come with age.”  My 40-year-old friend chose 35, my 50-year-old friend chose 40 and my mother-in-law (who looks 50 yet lives in a 71 year old body) chose somewhere in the 50’s because she would not have to deal with all the pre-menopause junk.

So my final thoughts are that as we grow older there are wonderful stages along the way but nothing can trade the wisdom that comes from living life through each of these years.  Even though, eventually, we may not have the face or body of a youthful person we can choose to see age more as a state of mind.  I have met many young people who just act old before their time and those are the people who will look in the mirror in disgust as time deepens those wrinkles on their face.  I truly do believe that age really is a state of mind, and how we choose to deal with it will reflect on the quality of life we live.  A positive note:  My sister stated, “You know, Mother Nature is really kind.  She has blurred our vision as we grow older so we don’t see those deep wrinkles but rather smoothed out lines.”

So with each year that passes let us celebrate what we have survived, what we soon will learn and how far we have come.  Do not dread your future years because, so wisely spoken by Cato, “Old age isn’t so bad when you consider the alternatives.”

In Other’s Words

“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?”

~ Satchel Paige~