Embracing the Art of aging gracefully

Life has been always beautiful, be it childhood, teenage years or the adulthood; life has been wonderful always. Beautiful- the word, however, is getting more personal, mean and exploited. Rather than taking a holistic view of beauty around us, we are getting selfish enough to shrink this beauty circle just to ourselves; external beauty, personal beauty; I, me & mine only.

When we were young, we were apple of the eyes of our grandparents and we used to admire them. We used to love their righteousness, integrity, the way they used to carry themselves. We never saw our grandparents yearning to gain youth. Unfortunately, there is a huge trend of old remaining adults and adults remaining teenagers. Thankfully, teenagers want to remain a teenager. The primary reason for this clinging to youthfulness is that life expectancy is going up and with medical science assisting human rejuvenation, human believes that he will live longer than his predecessor. So, he will adopt youthfulness forever and will try avoiding aging with all possible means.

The second reason I think is the spread of social media where influencers are giving tips to remain young and people are blindly following them without establishing their credibility. Technologies like Photo filters, AI and photoshop apps have helped influences project them as beauty Gods and they advise people for products which they don't use themselves. Influencing is a job and influencer has to earn money, let's remember this.

Another factor is the public display of personal lives of ideals, our stars; notably, more actors and sport persons are becoming influencers now. Many of them have huge fan following on social media. More fans mean more money obviously. These stars earn millions in posting one post on these social media accounts. The stars want to remain young and even if they are aging they want to project their youth, flaunting their body, the beauty of their skin and endorsing anti aging products.?Money is the game for them my friends. Appearing young is important for them to earn.

As we grow older, our bodies undergo changes, our faces transform, and our abilities evolve. These are natural processes that we cannot halt. Most of it is beyond our control, and some aspects can test our patience. However, instead of denying the reality of aging, we must learn to accept it. The core of the matter is that nobody wants to age; we all desire to appear younger than our children. So, what harm does it do if I strive to maintain a youthful appearance? How does it negatively impact others? The pursuit of aging gracefully often revolves around our physical appearance. That's why we invest in eye creams, face creams, neck creams, elixirs, and tinctures. But it is perfectly fine to want to look good—it's human nature. If feeling young makes us happy, why not strive to look young as well? It boosts our confidence, and there is nothing wrong with being confident, especially when it comes to aging gracefully. Self-confidence is the most attractive accessory one can possess. Perhaps the choice lies between feeling young, appearing young, or actually remaining young. The key is to embrace aging naturally and gracefully, rather than chasing an age that is twenty years younger than our own.?

What's the remedy? Age gracefully, respect your age. While remaining young at heart is amazing defying age may not be a good proposition. What we need to do?

Your body is the best assessor of your abilities. As humans, in our body of 50 years lies the heart of 30 years. 40 is the new 20 as per these new people. We want to do extra reps, lift more weight, burn more calories. But is our body behaving accordingly? Imagine a car being repainted every year but having the original engine. Can you continue taking same load? Can it give you the same mileage or same speed? Same is a case with human being. As our car gets old, we drive it slower; load it less in order to keep giving us good mileage and smooth ride. So let your body take fewer loads and let you go slow. Let us exercise but change our patterns focus more on sustainable activities and exercises rather than building ‘Popeye muscles’. I am giving below some words of wisdom to help us all age gracefully.

Maturity is the key to leading a fulfilling life. Let us strive to be mature in our conversations, actions, and overall behavior. Our level of maturity in our daily lives will be evident in our habits, our physical well-being, and our dedication to self-improvement. It is important to choose a slower pace, as it allows us to exude grace and elegance. Let us take inspiration from our parents and grandparents, who displayed immense patience and attention to detail. Instead of rushing through a hundred tasks, let us focus on accomplishing ten with utmost care and love.

Be your own influencer. Let's not fall into the trap of external beauty and hundreds of influencing products. Create your own style, the unique one.

Engaging in activities that challenge the mind, such as learning a new skill or pursuing or developing new hobbies, contributes to cognitive vitality. It's never too late to explore new interests and expand one's horizons. Change your habits, learn new things like Painting, guitar, invest in gardening etc. Cooking is a great habit to add anytime in life.

Engage, socialize an increase your meaningful connections. Social engagement not only provides emotional support but also stimulates cognitive function, fostering a sense of purpose and belonging.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is one crucial aspect of aging gracefully. There’s more and enough knowledge available on this. Live simple, eat simple. Sleep early wake up early, maintain a routine are few tips.

Acceptance or embracing the natural changes in appearance and recognizing the passage of time are essential aspects of aging gracefully. By accepting these changes, individuals can cultivate self-compassion. Instead of pursuing an unattainable fountain of youth, those who age gracefully appreciate the distinct beauty that each phase of life offers.

Mindfulness practices, such as meditation and yoga, can be powerful tools for navigating the emotional and psychological aspects of aging.?

Live a life with a sense of humor- Laugh your heart out with your friends and relatives. Accept jokes on you. Laugh on changes in your body..

Be authentic; accept and be proud of yourself. Remember the most attractive quality one can have is self confidence.?

Do things that make you happy, even if they may be selfish sometimes. Go dance in rain, be crazy, go on long drives, go on trips, sometimes solo, sometimes in a group.

Choose your attitude- Only you have the ability to make my day great.?

Forgive yourself and others. Move on, forget and forgive. Patch up fast, there is no time for revenge, gossips are not bad always, do it. Speak things out, bitching can be relaxing sometimes.?

Love unconditionally. There is no time for faking things. Help genuinely, love genuinely, accept genuinely.?

Let’s not burn out ourselves in this critical phase of our life. Our days of old age are depending on how we age. As the years unfold, the journey of aging gracefully becomes a testament to the wisdom gained and the beauty that transcends time. Embracing the inevitable changes with a positive mindset and nurturing one's well-being are key components of this art. As the years unfold, may we all embrace the art of aging gracefully, finding fulfillment in the rich tapestry of experiences that?time?weaves. To age with grace we have to live with grace.