Navigating Aging: Overcoming Limitations and Embracing Happiness

You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at everything that barks.

Winston Churchill

Glancing at Facebook, as I drank my morning coffee, I was greeted with a large photo of Rachel Maddow. Written across the image was the message, “Rachel Maddow is dumb.” My first reaction was,”no”. Or “non”, on one of my better, “French as a second language.” days. Rachel Maddow is a Rhodes Scholar, I thought. Quite the opposite of dumb. Was this posted by a third grader? Sadly, no, it was shared by someone my age. Seriously, this is the best commentary they could come up with? How does one even debate this? After a second the light came on. This wasn’t a serious comment. This was a shiny object. Meant to distract my attention from the real issues. In today’s political climate, how easy it is to get caught up in the nonsensical rhetoric we are constantly bombarded with.

So, tearing my eyes away from that slick, Facebook, image. Enough of that, I thought. Breathe, meditate, pray, focus.

What I was originally thinking about this morning, was the idea of positive aging. I’ve been considering the many women, my age and older, who continue to make valuable contributions to the world around them. Alice Waters, the chef, founder and owner of Chez Panisse is 80 and continues to be an advocate for universal access to healthy, organic food. Hilary Clinton, former Secretary of State and presidential candidate, among many other accomplishments. Now 76, she recently co-produced the musical. SUFFS, telling the story of women who fought for passage of the 19th amendment. Doris Kerns Goodwin, 81, author and historian, published, An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s, this year.

I’m not denying that there are many negative aspects to aging. We have two choices, we can allow it to defeat us and, literally, bury us or we can move past it. Celebrate your age. You made it this far. Good for you! What makes you happy? Family, friends, religion, volunteering, museums, theater, reading, a hobby, exercise? Do more of that. Find a way around limitations and write your own narrative .