Ageing gracefully is about RESISTING: Gravity Fear Boredom Judgment Pessimism Victimization Age gracefully is about EMBRACING: Stimulation Accommodation Flexibility Adapting Making Choices Gratitude Joy Possibilities Growing old is chock full of challenges and opportunities. With the ageing process I feel significant changes in my body, skin, hair, vision, and moods.

Each one of these challenges is accompanied by an opportunity and a choice. I can choose to accept these changes, embrace them and make them part of the ageing process AND use these changes as an opportunity to adjust and accommodate myself into a new and wiser woman. Or, I can feel as though ageing is inevitable and a declining state. There will be some grief about the things I can no longer do at the level and passion I did in the past AND I will embrace a different way of living.

I choose opportunity. This option does take more energy but the rewards are huge, include feeling good about ageing and embracing all that process involves. SKIN My skin has been the most visible exterior result of my ageing process with age spots, redness, wrinkles, sensitivity, growths, less elasticity, and dryness. All of these things stare back at me each and every time I look in the mirror. The wrinkles and age spots speak plainly of the time I have spent outdoors and in all kinds of weather. They crinkle in places that I have been most expressive in my life, around my eyes, mouth and forehead. The age spots on my hands are evidence of all the things they have accomplished.

The skin on my body holds old scars white and revealing of the falls, the surgeries, and the accidents of daily living. The opportunities here involve good skin care inside and out. I use good quality lotions with natural organic ingredients, eat lots of fruits and veggies, drinks lots of water and get plenty of sleep. All of these things, though they don’t take away the signs of an active and full life make me look and feel healthy. It is amazing how laughing and feeling joy can transform a face that has lived through many of life’s challenges into a radiant expression of life.

HAIR As the years gallop by strands of silver or grey hair give way to entire patches of hair that has no pigment. Many of these are course and unruly. Their non-conformist attitude fits well with the other changes in ageing. Some women can tolerate grey, others can’t. I find myself admiring women who allow their hair to grey naturally. It may be that these women have a certain acceptance of the passage of time. The flip side of this is that if every time a women looks in the mirror she is plagued with the grey and it makes her feel less than she could be she has the option to do something about it. How you feel emotionally goes a long way to how you look on the outside. The same good health applies here as it did for the skin. Nurture it and take care of it.

VISION Sometimes seeing the world less clearly is sometimes a good thing. Though in reality, it is a real frustration to not be able to read labels or bills. Having the right eyewear that allows you to see far away and up close at the same time is a huge challenge. Adapting to this and being patient with your vision, as well as taking care of your eyes will ease the aggravation of changing eyesight. The bigger issue here is that as your physical eyesight changes so does how you “see” the world. It is a softer focus with less hard edges. I find that I am happier when I don’t judge peoples actions as quickly or at all. Acceptance and allowing take the place of controlling.

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