Ageing happily

Every morning on the way to office ,one ritual I follow is to click a selfie in cab to confirm that I am looking fresh. Mornings are so super packed that at times I don’t get adequate time to get ready properly. The mobile selfie camera acts as a perfect mirror. The mirror friend analyses the age also while capturing the shot .What amazes me is ,age shown is different from different angles. When it shows my age as 19 years a broad smile naturally comes on my face. Such a cute way of making someone feel momentarily happy!!

Friends majority of us are so conscious of our growing age. It is not that we feel bad but somehow we like to look young and pretty always. That natural craving for youth charm is always there. The ever growing market of anti ageing creams and lotions is indicator to the growing consciousness of people. So is the rising number of hair salons. People spend hours and thousands at salon just to hide the gray hair and aging skin symptoms.Even a single gray hair is enough to give sleepless nights to many.

There is nothing wrong in maintaining our skin and hair. It is always good to feel and look fresh and healthy. It is a personal choice and I respect it immensely. But my point is that it should not be a subject of stress or so much concern that it affects the mental peace.

I have seen many friends post mid thirties worrying and growing extra conscious. Every birthday adds to their stress. So is the menopausal stage. Many women feel growing age takes away the charm and spark of feminity. Anxiety grips men too when their beard starts showing grey streak or when hairline start receding.

Personally I feel we should be young at heart. That is more important than just looking young. How we feel naturally reflects on our look and personality. One of my aunts stopped coloring her hair in her early sixties, had a nice short haircut and became absolutely carefree. I really liked her decision of embracing passing age with so much of grace .On the other hand one of the old ladies I know doesn’t like to use hearing aid. So is an old uncle who refuses to use walking stick. They feel it will make them look more aged. I always wonder why people shy away from showing their actual age.

I loved the spirit of my late grandfather. Even after retiring from defence force he maintained his exercise regime. I remember him going for long walks daily wearing different types of clothes in variety of colours, reading, singing and enjoying each day. He never complained of old age. But was always full of energy and positive spirit. He enriched us by sharing his experiences with harsh events in life full of crime and cheating. Equally good was he sharing in happy fantasy stories.

Friends I feel with passing years we should become more conscious of our diet and exercise regime rather just how we look. Equally important is maintaining a healthy thought process. It is very important to work on our inner engineering. Each addition to our age is actually a witness to the number of experiences and number of lessons learnt in life’s journey. Each addition should make us feel proud of having on our stride treasure of moments –moments of victory, loss, joy, sorrow.

A complete cocktail of experiences builds our personality and character.

Keeping ourselves occupied and surrounded by exciting, interesting things, spending time with children and relatively young people can work wonders. My observation says that lecturers and teachers always look young and active since they spend chunk of their lives with young vibrant people. Fresh ideas are a great nourishment to mind.

We need to accept the fact consciously and happily that with each passing moment we are bound to lose the natural glow and natural strength. But it is in our hands, how we cope up with the loss in the best possible way without compromising on peace of mind. So whenever I see the mirror and age it calculates, I try to analyze how I felt at 19 and how I feel now. Innocence naturally fades away with experience and age but we can keep the purity, humility and freshness in our thought process intact. So also I try to promise myself to take care of my emotional and physical well being in best possible manner to live each and every moment healthy and happily.

“Some people...no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty.They merely move it, from their faces into their hearts.”-Martin Buxbaum