A friend of mine the other day dismissed the fact that I don’t look 70, though I am – “You’re just an anomaly”, she said.
I’ve been playing with that thought since. If I’m an anomaly, a freak of nature, then no one has to consider the fact of aging in any new ways. If, on the other hand, I’m a possibility – which is what I think I am – then making changes might be a good idea.
I don’t think I like being thought of as an anomaly! At 40, having finally quit smoking three packs of cigarettes a day, and having had high blood pressure for 20 years, I was pretty much where everyone else in my high school class was at that time. And they all now (those still on the planet) have at least one, if not two or three, chronic, costly, exhausting dis-eases.
Whereas my goal is to have as much fun as possible. Fun defined as doing what I want when I want – whether right-brained, left-brained, physical, mental, mundane or esoteric.
The only thing I every gave up was cigarettes – the most difficult physical effort I ever made. Otherwise, all the changes I’ve made have been out of curiosity, seeking, going toward the future, doing what felt right to my body, mind and spirit. Like becoming vegetarian. Like stretching, yoga, trampolining. Like listening to and growing my intuition. Like teaching folk how to be self-healers with Reiki. Like blogging.
Or as another friend said last summer – “Living life with passion!” Now that statement makes me very happy – and is the prescription I’ve been using, without consciously stating it, since I was in that hole at 40.
I don’t want to be an anomaly. I want everyone to be having a terrific time at every age. Sounds good to me!