"I am proud to be old today. Everyone has been young before, but not everyone can live to a ripe old age and still be happy. To be able to age with time, is a privilege; as not everyone will be granted this opportunity"
His wise words remain in my mind till this day and I must say I am impressed by the positive side he looked at on the state of growing old and aging gracefully. He even made the prospects of death look so positive. It is no wonder he maintain to stay so cheerful all the time!~
(picture from www.southbirminghampct.nhs.uk)
The idea of aging is never an entertaining thought; what with the women worrying about sagging skin, wrinkles, and the men worrying about their receding hairline, bulging tummy, etc and not to mention the idea of death looming near.
All these being on the list of things to worry about for all of us, but yet at the same time, it becomes an opportunity for all the cosmetic and health products to introduce new anti-aging packages into the market, to thrive and capitalize on the biggest fear among all genders across ages.
The truth is, are we able to combat aging with even the mightiest of all products?
I am not steering this to lash out at all the cosmetic products or to prove that they are of no effect, but to ignite that realization in each and every one of us that age is not our enemy, as perceived negatively throughout ages.
Rather, age should be regarded with respect and pride as it is a gift from above that we live in goodwill and health to witness the wonders of the world.
Eric is not wrong when he said that everyone gets to be young; it is part of the process, but how many will be blessed with the increasing age and still be alive to see the wonders of God's work on the world?
Looking at the high mortality rate due to accidents, disasters, diseases, illnesses, etc, I doubt the number of senior citizens will surpass that of the younger generation.
So true yet at the same time, why do we constantly have that nagging feeling that we hate celebrating our birthdays after 21 years old due to the fear of being reminded of one's increasing age?
I am not spared from this gloomy prospect and somehow, I, too, will dread the thought of becoming older.
Sometimes, when we look at the mirror, we tend to freak ourselves out when we notice how dull we look after those late nights of TV, work, partying, etc.
That's where we start to worry again; and totally kick the idea of aging into reclusion and never want to think of it at all and at the same time, invest our hard-earned money into the ever-booming business of cosmetics, facial or any beauty-enhancing gimmicks which promise immediate results.
All for the sake of disguising our real age and looking younger by years!
Sometimes I wonder, we can disguise and lie to the whole world about our age, but does that make us feel any better?
Does that really masquerade the real age and will that blanket the increasing number in our age?
Face the truth, we can never lie to ourselves as we are aware that no matter how, age is definitely catching up and it is a solid number staring at us.
Of course, wanting to look great is still of vital importance, after all, we are vain creatures, aren't we? (there is no distinction between the genders in this issue as I believe even our male counterparts are scared of the aging process)
The simple solution, that I can think of is, well, just STOP worrying.
The increment in the age number will still come, no matter what, and our constant freak outs will not help at all!
The time we spent thinking and avoiding the issue of our increasing age, can be spent enjoying ourselves and creating all those lovely memories in our photo albums that we can truly pride in when we are at the age where we are entitled to sit in a rocking chair, poring over the beautiful photos of our youth.
Of course, go pamper yourselves with spa, beauty facials, massages, etc, anything that you believe in which will make you feel younger and more beautiful, and confident, whatever it is...just indulge yourselves in that load of fun which can lighten your mood and make you happier (of course, at the same time, keeping a watch on your pocket as well)
What I am trying to say is, the aging process is part of our life and can never be deferred or ignored no matter how we try to avoid.
But instead of making ourselves miserable with the thought and looking haggled (which is worse than aging), we can entertain our thoughts with how to make ourselves look prettier and younger, etc, and take off those worries off our mind on the solid number you get when you subtract the current year from your birth year.
Aging is not such a big issue, isn't it?
Not that I am such a great fan of it, but I personally want to be happy my whole life...and besides, look at the positive side of it, senior citizens do get special privileges and discounts everywhere, don't they?
That's a comforting thought that I will be loaded with wealth and fortune by then!
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