I can’t hold back any longer! Time is far too precious to spend another moment not loving our precious bodies or celebrating our age in the most joyous of ways.
I was recently invited to be a speaker at an event on positive ageing. It was a fabulous evening attended by so many wonderful women (and a few fabulous men too!) At the end of my talk, a few of the ladies came up to me to say how much they had enjoyed the talk.
However, they also shared with me that they felt invisible in their lives and felt quite despondent about the thought of growing older. I wish you could have seen them – they were marvellous! They just couldn’t see how gorgeous they were.
Every part of our life has been teaching us more about who we are, what we desire, what we love, what we can overcome and what deeply fulfils our soul. Every passing year has brought with it some kind of wisdom, learning, insight, achievement, knowledge or awareness. Everything we have been through, every landscape we have traveled has been in preparation for us to truly come of age and to step boldly into our passion and purpose.
If Not Now, When?
And the question in my mind is, “If not now, when?” When will we look into the mirror and smile at our reflection? When will we declare to the world that we are enough just as we are? When will we allow ourselves to be the person that we most desire to be and own all of our talents, gifts and experiences that our lives have brought us?
When will we be fully comfortable in our bodies, knowing that they have loved and supported us as best they could all of these years? What has all of this extraordinary life experience been for if not to finally be able to wear our lives like coats of pure gold around our shoulders and stand, face to the wind, arms outstretched, hearts open and proclaim loudly, as in the old Helen Reddy song, “I am woman hear me roar!”
Be Visible to Yourself First!
Life calls us to hold our heads high and live as we’ve never lived before in ways which feel sweet and right for our authentic self.
Many people feel as if they become invisible after a certain age. However, what truly matters is that we are visible to ourselves – that we choose to see the amazing, brave, beautiful person that we are and we honour this every day by choosing to show up for ourselves first and foremost.
Choose Miracles!
There is a saying that there are two ways in which we can live our life. The first is as if everything is a miracle. The second is as if nothing is a miracle. When I look at these choices, I know which way I desire to live.
When I look at the world with eyes full of possibility, I see miracles everywhere. We can complain about growing older or we can celebrate the miracle of our life every single day. We are so blessed to be here. To walk on this beautiful earth. To breathe in our life day after day and to rise to meet new challenges, joys and opportunities.
There are many who would envy us this privilege. Those who are no longer here would give everything they had for just another moment to be with their loved ones. To sit in the garden and listen to the birds singing so sweetly, to tumble into welcoming and loving arms of those they loved when the day grew too hard and to arise anew every morning with hope in their hearts and wonder in their eyes.
Make no mistake, life is a privilege, a gift, a blessing and the greatest adventure we will ever have.
When I was in my 20s, I hated the thought of growing older. I was hard on myself and hugely critical of everything I did. However, my life journey has taught me how to be kinder to myself, to appreciate my dear body.
When I suffer with arthritis, I know how to be compassionate instead of chastising myself. When I feel as if things are too overwhelming, I remind myself that I have felt this way before, and I have come through these moments. When I have lost people in my life that I have loved, I turn to my heart where all of their love, smiles, hugs and laughter live on.
And as Agatha Christie once said, “I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow; but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.”
I echo her sentiments. It really is a grand thing to be alive.
Loving Your One Wild and Precious Life
So, let’s keep turning towards ourselves with our arms open wide and our hearts full of possibilities. Let’s face the day with courage and love in our eyes and boldness in our bones. Let’s live fully and meaningfully until the day that we finally leave this beautiful earth and let our last words be full of thanks and gratitude for our own wild and oh-so-precious life.
And finally, for those of you who love affirmations, here are 10 positive affirmations (or mini rants) to say every morning:
- I am so blessed to be here – my life is the most precious gift.
- Every day, in every way, I allow more happiness into my life.
- Wow, aren’t we all incredible?
- I am so excited by the thought of what every year will bring.
- I am so grateful to my dear body which allows me to feel the sun on my face, the wind in my hair and to experience all the pleasures that life can bring.
- Every day, I will get up, show up and dress up for me.
- Life simply gets better and better, and I love it.
- I am fabulous and so is everyone else.
- I am so happy to be me.
- I can and I am!
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Let’s Have a Conversation:
What inspires you, motivates you or makes you feel so blessed to be alive? What do you do when negative thoughts creep in? Do you have special affirmations that you tell yourself every day?
