AGING GRACEFULLY & BEAUTIFULLY & STYLISHLY. AND BEING MORE THAN OKAY WITH IT.
I wanted to attempt to keep this post short, sweet, and just full of love. At the moment I am struggling with the love part, as I just had it all written out, ready to post, even the appropriate links and tags all set up, and I went to correct something, which erased the whole thing except for the letter “M”. So this is the second version. Never again will it not be a word document first. Never ever again.
So onto the topic of aging. This subject is near and dear to me, only partially because it comes up in daily conversation with other women (and men) of all ages. Really, every single day. When you’re going though your own day, just see how often aging comes up. Wait till you pay attention to the frequency, it’s kind of shocking.
In these modern times that we’re in, we are pretty much assaulted all day every day, with a constant stream of images and various media showing us faux perfection, while telling us we are less than, or not enough, all so that they can sell us whatever product.
Usually we get all this from our smartphones that we carry around with us by choice, and within arm’s reach. We open up all the apps and we get hit. But it isn’t only our phones, we also get it from TV, billboards, and if we go to the movies, they aren’t just playing trailers for new movies anymore. Nope, there are now commercials as well.
So last night I was scrolling through Facebook and I came across an ad for a photo editing app, showing this beautiful young woman with freckles. The ad showed her getting her freckles removed, then they gave her larger bug-like eyes and then they topped her off with Kylie Jenner-esque lips. She was beautiful to begin with and ended up looking very fake as you would expect. The beautiful freckled girl was not beautiful enough in the advertiser’s opinion, so they remade her. That’s just one single example.
I think when we’re in our younger years, and we think about getting older, we have this scary vision involving lots of wrinkles and hunched backs, something out of a fairy tale. And for me there was always this fear of becoming invisible in a way. Like I would get older in years, and these years that had passed would then somehow take away my ability to express myself? And I wish I could say to myself at a younger age, that that’s just nonsense.
Because here I sit at 42 years old, an age that used to seem soooooo old to me, and it really is just a bunch of baloney. I’ve said it before, and I will probs repeat it often, I feel better than I ever felt in my twenties or even my teens. SO MUCH BETTER. Right now, at 42 years old, I feel better in my body than I ever have in EVER.
I think if I could go back to talk to young me, I would also say to that version of myself, that we do get to choose how we feel about aging. And about everything really. We get to decide. It is our choice. Here is a quote that I feel reflects that sentiment.
“What you think, you create. What you feel, you attract. What you think, you become.” - Buddha
And here is another one I recently discovered, which I think TOTALLY relates.
“She wore her scars as her best attire. A stunning dress made of hellfire.” - Daniel Saint
We get older and we learn stuff. We learn what we love and do not love. We learn what makes us feel comfortable and likewise, the very opposite of comfortable. What makes us tick, what pisses us off, what works for us, what really does not. And we go through all these life experiences that are necessary for us on our different journeys, and our faces and bodies tell these stories. So, if a wrinkle or a scar happens, it is part of us. I am especially fond of the various smile lines. All the laughter that created them.
Some final thoughts:
As I embrace aging and the passage of time, I will still always be hunting for ways to take care of my skin and my body, and when I find things that work or sometimes do not work, I will share them. For myself, I prefer to find natural ways rather than chemicals, or injectables, or any type of surgery. This blog will always have reflections on natural options.
Secondly, a note about and some credit for the images I have selected for this post. (Hopefully my first attempt at a photo carousel is working.) I find these images to be an inspiration, and to be little reminders just to be yourself, to love and to accept yourself, no matter how many years you have been alive on the planet.
You will probably recognise Michelle Pfeiffer and Helen Mirren, two of my famous faves which just seem to get better and better with every passing year, like fine vintage wine.
You might also recognise Iris Apfel who I discovered via a Netflix Documentary about her a few years ago. She is 97 years old I believe. And she is simply amazing. Such an inspiration. You WILL love her, you can’t not.
Also, I follow Ari Cohen and his Advanced Style Blog and website. I also discovered him via his documentary a few years ago. I love what he is doing. I think you will too.
And finally, many of the images are from someone I stumbled across just recently I think I found through following the hashtag #oldisthenewblack A fellow named Igor Gavar started a modelling agency called Oldushka, in Russia, who only features models aged 45 years and above. The majority of the models the agency represents are over 60 years old. I just love this. So much.
Okay, thank you for stopping by the blog, and have a nice day or night wherever in the world you might find yourself.
Tara xx
