Just got back from my spin cycling class. While cycling my guts out (in moderation, of course), I looked around at the young man and the women in the class who put so much energy into looking and feeling great. All their hard work has obviously paid off. It got me to thinking how interesting aging is. You can fight it – physically and mentally – but the bottom line is, you will continue to age. Your body will change. You will not look or feel 25 or 30 forever.
But, on the other hand, sometimes we age ourselves too quickly.
Something I read recently:
It is true we can talk ourselves into feeling bad and acting old. This can happen no matter what age we are. I’ve seen 20 year olds ‘act old’ with a cold. I’ve seen middle-aged women act as if menopause is going to kill them, and I’ve seen seasoned women (interjection: don’t you LOVE that term!?) turn into little old ladies just by telling themselves they are rickety, aged specimens of humanity. (From Tending the Soul)
What we tell ourselves plays a big part in how we feel. If I keep telling myself I’m getting old and focus on what I CAN’T do anymore, well, then I will just age that much faster.
I must remember to focus on the positive, and minimize the negative aspects of getting older. After all, Lord willing, I have a lot of years left to be ‘renewed’!
When I was watching that show, Billy Connolly: Journey to the End of the Earth, he met this little 70 or 80 year old woman living by herself on this little ranch in the middle of the Yukon...she was amazing! She did everything herself...shot bears, operated her motorboat, ran her household and did a B&B for people who cared to come that far! She never doubted herself. Kind of inspirational.
ReplyDeleteVERY amazing!! I'm going to have to watch that show, Jill. It sounds really interesting!
ReplyDelete