•  
Support crystalwind.ca with your donation and help spread spirituality and positivity. Blessings!

This article was posted by CrystalWind.ca

A+ A A-

Defy Aging Fear: Embrace Your Timeless Journey Now!

Defy Aging Fear: Embrace Your Timeless Journey Now!

Last year, I turned 50 years old … and I found myself thinking about aging more than I ever had before.

To be clear, 50 years old is still pretty young, but there’s something about the number that had me realizing that my 60s and 70s aren’t very far away, and it was a bit confronting to me.

After all, I’d spent most of my life thinking that growing old was something to fear. It’s a cultural assumption that goes deep into our society — beliefs that being old means you are feeble, weak, helpless, irrelevant. I know that that isn’t really true — but we’re constantly given cultural messages that it is true.

So when I turned 50, I spent some time sitting with this. What does it mean to me to grow older? What are my fears? What are my prejudices? How do I want my older years to be?

As an exercise, I highly recommend that you start to notice your own biases about aging and being old, and notice how often people around you (and in the media you consume) talk about aging as if it’s a bad thing. The word “old” is used as an insult. If you say you’re old, other people will tell you, “Oh, you’re not old yet” as if you were insulting yourself. Or, “It’s OK, you don’t look old.” Or, “You look young for your age!” These are meant to be reassuring, because being old is assumed to be bad.

It’s all around us. And when everyone and everything we encounter treats being old, and aging, as something bad, then of course we’re going to fear it. It’s similar to old cultural messages about being overweight, being gay, or having a mental disability. These are all turned into insults, which means if we are any of these things, we are meant to feel ashamed.

Let’s rebel against all of that! Reclaim being old, reclaim aging. If we can change these messages, at least to ourselves, then the fear and shame lose their power over us.

So here are some things I’ve done in the past 18 months to transform my relationship to aging:

  1. I started noticing my own biases against aging and old age. And started noticing it in the way others talk about aging and being old.
  2. I started pointing this hidden agism out to others, lovingly. And changing my language around all of it.
  3. I started seeing people who are empowered in their old age — athletes, Nobel prize winners, incredible artists, people who are pillars in their communities, monks and sages, gardeners and house builders. I started seeing them as my models.
  4. I started envisioning how I want to be in my older years. Empowered, compassionate, creative, adventurous, learning, expanding. Gentle, kind, and curious.
  5. I began to sit with my fears of being powerless. This is the hidden beast underneath our fears about aging — none of us want to feel powerless, and yet we are all descending into helplessness eventually. So I found places where I already feel powerless, and began to bring compassion to myself whenever I feel it.
  6. I see every challenge that will come to me in old age — physical, mental, emotional, relational, career, spiritual — as exactly the edge for me to practice with, when they come. My strength and wisdom will only deepen as I encounter these challenges, as they have with all of my challenges so far.

And with this, I now feel so in love with growing older!

It’s a magical thing, living into this new chapter of my life. I feel more patient, more compassionate, more connected to others, than ever before. And I look forward to the adventure that awaits me as my body and mind and spirit continue to evolve.

I wish you all love as you progress in your journeys as well.

Credit

Zen Habits is about finding simplicity and mindfulness in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, find happiness. My name is Leo Babauta. I live in Davis, California with my wife and six kids, where I eat vegan food, write, run, and read. Source

Posting on CrystalWind.ca ©2024. All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce any content without written permission. The article's title was crafted by CrystalWind.ca.

Pin It

© CrystalWind.ca 2024. All content (articles, imagery, fair use) & design protected. Written permission required for copying. All rights reserved.

Join the Conversation Now! Comment Below! arrow down small 11

CrystalWind.ca is free to use because of donations from people like you. Please help support us! 
Blessings!

Follow this blog

Featured Writers

Spirit Animal Totem Of The Day!

CrystalWind.ca is free to use because of
donations from people like you.
Donate Now »

CrystalWind.ca Donation!

Unlock Your Light: Join Lightworkers Worldwide on CrystalWind.ca!

Follow Us!

 

Who is Online Now

We have 15398 guests and no members online

Featured This Month

Page:

Gods and Monsters of the Winter Solstice

Gods and Monsters of the Winter Solstice

La Befana Because Santa Claus has presided over the Yule festival for the las... Read more

Birth Totem - Owl

Birth Totem - Owl

Birth Totem Owl Birth dates: November 23 - December 21 Birth Totem: Owl Read more

Sagittarius Mythology

Sagittarius Mythology

The Sagittarius Myth Other than Virgo, the Sagittarius myth is probably the... Read more

Twas The Night Before Yuletide

Twas The Night Before Yuletide

Yule Chant Brightly burns the Yule log tonight Magic dances in firelight Ho... Read more

Obsidian

Obsidian

The Protection Stone As a stone that emerges with dramatic force from the d... Read more

Sun in Sagittarius

Sun in Sagittarius

An Overview of Sun Sign Characteristics for Sagittarius At the heart of Sagit... Read more

Long Snows Moon

Long Snows Moon

Elk – Obsidian – Black Spruce – Black November 22 to December 21 The Long ... Read more

Yule

Yule

Yule Ritual Celebrated on the Winter Solstice, around December 21 each year.... Read more

Turquoise

Turquoise

The Master Healer Stone As a blue stone with a hint of green, turquoise wor... Read more

Yule - The Winter Solstice

Yule - The Winter Solstice

Yule, or the Winter Solstice is one of the lesser Sabbats of the Witches calen... Read more

Winter Solstice - A Season of Giving

Winter Solstice - A Season of Giving

CELEBRATING THE WINTER SOLSTICE The December solstice is also known as the ... Read more

Yule Blessings

Yule Blessings

Yule The Winter Solstice or Yule is one of the Lesser Wiccan Sabbats, and it ... Read more

Sodalite

Sodalite

The Logic Stone Sodalite works well in unison with the throat and brow chak... Read more

Sagittarius

Sagittarius

Nov 22 - Dec 21 Spirit: Meeting competition Ego: Independent, studious, in... Read more

Yule By The Hedgewitch

Yule By The Hedgewitch

Yule Yule is a solar festival and one of the Minor Sabbats. This is when the ... Read more

© 2008-2025 CrystalWind.ca. All rights reserved. Site Creation by CrystalWind.ca.
Web Hosting by Knownhost.com

 

 

X

Right Click

No right click