Letting Go of the Preconceived Notions of Aging

The other day I was with a group of people getting together after organizing a successful event to debrief. In the pre-meeting chitchat, the age of the woman I was sitting next to came up.

67.

I was stunned. I could not believe this vibrant, energetic, go-getting, world-changing woman was 67. Because to me, 67 seems “old.”

I said to her, “I hope I am what you are at 67 … well … I hope I am that tomorrow.”

I need to learn to let go of my concepts of aging. Because getting older doesn’t mean getting old. Yes, things start to creak. Yes, it takes longer to get warmed up. Yes, certain things are, shall we say, drier. Yes, I have arthritis in my hands and I now have a line of pill jars waiting for me in the morning.

But I still have my desire to learn. I still have my desire to grow. I still have that need to find the next “thing” that will invigorate and interest me. I still want to help.

It’s hard to reconcile the outside and the physical with the inside and the emotional/mental/intellectual. Hell, some days I wake up with all the turmoil of my 16-year-old self. And some days I feel the Zen of my future 80-year-old.

As long as we keep looking for the light, we must be on the right path. Look up. Look around. It’s there. Help each other find it.

Photo: Amy Mello Panucci, Love, Sunday Photo,The Babe Festival.