Aging Is A Clear Sign That You Are Living

If you weren’t, it would be called dying

My image of me enjoying One Vanderbilt in NYC. Current calendar age in this photo? Sixty-four, about to tip the curb into 65. Places like this encourage us to FEEL exuberant and young. I FEEL twelve. Lol.

Why, people, are we so hung up on the anti-aging movement? Why does the very term cause people to spend billions of dollars to prevent the inevitable? Every time you plunk down your hard-earned moola on a get-younger-quick scheme, you contribute to ageism. I’m not talking about using a face cream to keep your skin moist and supple. I’m talking about the expectation that if your skin looks flat and unwrinkly, you have somehow erased the fact that you have aged.

News flash. You are going to age. In doing so, inevitably, you are going to die.

As Obi-Wan Kenobi said, “Move along. Move along.”

I get annoyed with people who think they can outsmart Mother Nature. Multitudes of people lie in their coffins with beautiful, silky skin and taut legs and arms. They are still dead, because, like cancer, Death does not care how old you are or what you look like, how rich you are, how well you eat or exercise. You need to do those things to make yourself feel better as you age, not because you can dodge the flaming ball of Death itself, but because it will improve what life you have in front of you. Don’t live in the shadows of death, but in the bright light of life.

Depressed yet?

That’s not what this piece is meant to do. I got on my soapbox, and now I will summarily step off it.

My image of myself during a visit to The Broadway Museum. The hair may be albino, but the soul is vital and excited at all this enrichment. Fun can be had at any age.

I am pro-aging

What does that mean? To me, it means that I still have goals and dreams. I still have ambition and many things I want to accomplish as I move forward. I love being home and spending time with my friends and family, but even there, I have an agenda. Part of aging is not giving up on what comes next; it’s embracing it. Goals are important, and I believe they are necessary. Goals don’t have to be grand or lofty. They can be simple. They are personal and individual as you are.

As you may or may not know, I just turned 65. Whoo-hoo for me. I’ve made it farther around the game board than millions of people. I am aware that this is a major coup. I have quite a few goals. I have no intention of winding down. I have things I want to achieve, as much as any 20-year-old, if not more. In fact, many 20-somethings have no major goals in mind.

Many factors play into that mindset. They are still thinking they have their whole lives to make such choices. They are focused more on the here and now, enjoying those young and energetic bodies.

Yes, this is a generalization for the sake of my point. Well into my 60s, I see that there is a finish line that never entered my mind in my 20s. Sure, I was aware of death, but it wasn’t anything I thought could affect me. Now I am fully aware that I have an end date, like a loaf of bread or milk. Every single living thing has one. That is both a polarizing and enlightening thought.

My image of me cuddling my boy, Moon Pie.

I am a Generation Jones-er

I embrace being part of Generation Jones. It’s the arse-end of the Boomers, who are awesome people. Gen Jones folk are categorized as being born between 1960 and 1963. We missed some of the joys and simplicities of those born in the 1950s, when ideals were strong, and values were high. While it may seem archaic now, the late 1940s and 1950s were a time of many notable achievements. We got a little taste of it, but the ’60s changed things quickly. We were far enough away from the effects of WWII and Korea, which were formative experiences for those who came before us.

This is why I embrace this little subset of Boomerism. I want to take each day as a mini challenge. In the morning, I set a list of things I want to achieve. I may not get to everything, but it’s there for me. If I don’t accomplish everything, it’s cool. I move things to the next day and add more. Some hang out for quite a while, like painting the baseboards in my house, but it’s more about the planning than the timeline.

Eventually, it will get done, and I will make a new list. My point? Keep reinventing yourself. Be true to yourself. Don’t let others dictate what you should do or what is important to you. Only you can do that.

Oh yeah, and smile. That’s always a good idea. Wrinkles be damned.

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