Aging Gracefully
Wisdom – To Celebrate Growing Older
Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .
“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I’ve ever written.
My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short – enjoy it.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive but don’t forget.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have not what you need.
42. The best is yet to come…
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”
Celebrities Aging Gracefully
I just finished watching “The Iron Lady” with the magnificent Meryl Streep. What an amazing model of how to age gracefully. It got me thinking about other celebs who have been in the limelight lately and I thought I’d share some of them here with you. Add your own favorites please.
Thank God that not every celeb succumbs to the prevailing “pro-youth” pressures. The music and entertainment businesses can, in fact, be excellent places to look for examples of men and women who are reaching out and embarassing the aging process with enthusiasm and grace.
Consider:
Helen Mirren
Modesty and a healthy dose of humor are keys to Mirren aging so gracefully. When a gym gave her Body of the Year, she told the women of The View that she just sucked in her stomach.
“It was a beautiful thing that these fitness people did, I have to say,” she said. “I think it was recognition of the fact that you don’t have to be perfect.”
And then there is Lauren Becall
The iconic actress, who is in her late 80s, has been honest about some of the physical challenges of aging, but is notable for her continued zest for work and for her craft.
In her book By Myself and Then Some
And weighing in for the males:
George Clooney
The actor, who is 50,told Parade that he emulates actors like Paul Newman, who he thinks “handled growing old onscreen” well.
“I find that as you get older, you start to simplify things in general,” he told that publication. “By the time you get a subscription to AARP, which I just got, you have some idea of who your friends are, at least.”
