Thursday, January 16, 2014

Another Great Read - Age is nothing!

My mum sent me this article a little while ago and I loved it! This woman (the author, not my mum) is almost 90 years old. She does yoga. She sings. She writes music. She dances. She speaks several languages. And many of these skills have been added after she turned 50.

I remember thinking that 30 was old. Now I am 31. I remember thinking 60 was an age for grandmothers but then I look at my mum, just over 60 and think she is too young to have grand-babies and I am too young to be a mother (sorry mum!). I know lots of people have kids when they are younger than me - this is no slight to them. I am just not ready and more than that, I've started to see that life doesn't proceed down one simple path where we all get progressively older at around the same pace.

So often we think we should have accomplished something specific by some specific date and we feel like we've dropped the ball if we don't. And then we think at that some specific age we're old and life is all but over. But now, we have health for so much longer than we used too, especially if we take care of ourselves. Whereas before we thought had to do certain things, like get married, have kids, buy a house, etc by a certain age, more and more people are charting their own paths, in their own time that works for them.

That goes for fitness too. More people are getting into health and fitness as they get older and aren't being held back by age. Women in their 50s and 60s are competing in fitness competitions, running marathons, triathlons and taking Zumba. There is no longer an age where we're too old to get fit.

The simple acts of continuing to move daily and challenge your body and mind regularly can keep you relatively younger than someone who stops - stops moving, stops thinking, stops learning, stops exploring.

I look at what 70 is now for many woman and I realize that 31 isn't old. Not at all. Neither is 70. Or 80. Old is when you stop learning and growing and moving. 70, 80, 90 - those are just numbers, not ages that determine what you can and can't do. You determine that. You always have and always will. Determine wisely.

What have you noticed about getting older that surprised you?

Do you feel old/young?


  1. But it's still something we need to constantly talk to ourselves about. The numbers are constantly in your face even if you don't feel them. Someone will say something like, you have a daughter in her 30's! and while that's supposed to make me feel good, all it does is remind me of the number. The government reminds me constantly that I'm approaching the dreaded "senior" years. We are told that as seniors we are going to use up all the medical dollars with our aging bodies. It's important to not think about it too much and just get on with doing the things you love and learning a few new ones along the way.

    1. We kind of spend our whole lives obsessing. As kids we want to be older, then around 21-25, we realize how awesome being young is and right around there, people starting reminding you that 30 (with its biological clocks, weight gain, crows feet, whatever other uncontrollable issues 30 has) is around the corner. You kind of accept that and then it's 40 is lurking and then 50 and it continues forever.

      It's extremely hard to live in the age you actually are and not think (or obsesses) at least a little about getting older.