There is truth to the saying, “Old Age is Not for Sissies.”
Old age doesn’t happen all at once. It creeps up slowly, like a thief in the night, and before you know it, your body has been replaced with a replicant. This body kind of looks like you, but it isn’t “you.” It’s not the body you used to have.
This body can’t run down a meadow without looking out for hidden bumps and holes, or navigate the stairs without holding on for support, or dance with abandon without the fear of falling on the floor.
Growing old happens while you are not looking. Your mind and your body are not living in the same space. How did this happen? Maybe if I had been more diligent taking care of my body, exercising earlier, doing yoga regularly, I wouldn’t be in this aging body.
If I had paid better attention to my body maybe I wouldn’t have fallen down a flight of stairs like I did in a restaurant in Atlanta; I wouldn’t have stumbled on a threshold in Rockville and broken my ankle; or missed a step and broken my hip in Portland. I wouldn’t have to worry about movements I took for granted before the thief stole my body.
Challenges of Aging
It takes courage to confront the challenges that come with aging. Accepting, not denying, the natural changes that happen in our body. Working with what is present, not wishing for what is gone. Going beyond the challenges and facing the truth of aging.
In her book, La Viellesse (1970), Simone de Beauvoir asked the existential question, “Can I become a different being while I still remain myself?” In other words, who is this person who appears to be me, but is more than me?
As we accept the “me” that shows up as we age, we free ourselves to see the opportunities for growth and the freedom aging gives us. Aging is a gift that not all people have.
Advantages of Aging
We can explore new landscapes, have new eyes.
We can take risks like speaking up and sharing our opinions, trying new activities, without the fear of judgment.
We can share our knowledge and help others grow as we ourselves are growing in wisdom.
We can free ourselves from the burden of having other people’s judgment be more important than our own.
We can have more self-awareness, more confidence.
We can have more time for contemplation and self-exploration.
As I accept my aging body, I find that I can overcome the challenges I face with courage and determination and I free myself to embrace the new me that shows up with joy and love.
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“Old Age is not for Sissies.”
- Bette Davis
“Aging is not ‘lost youth’ but a new stage of opportunity and strength.”
– Betty Friedan