a sign of the times: aging

I have always been fascinated by the concept of aging, getting old.

When I was young, I was obsessed with my Grammy’s loose skin. I loved the texture, the feeling, it was like silk to me. As I aged, my mom told me how she hated that, her skin being so loose. That made me sad. Why? Why would she hate it?

The over-arching mindset towards aging in America is quite negative in my opinion. It’s not something that is celebrated, rather something that is actively avoided and feared. The truth is that is nature. It’s a beautiful piece of nature.

It’s a no brainer as to why society refuses to celebrate our elders. (wisdom is freedom, eagerness to hustle is MIA) Let’s get some perspective shall we? Take a moment to think about the people you know who didn’t get the chance to age. Those that passed away before they got hangy skin, and brittle bones, and a decrease in drive. Truthfully though, getting older is an honor. It’s a privilege and it’s truly a gift. I think about that quite often.

We take aging for granted. Truthfully. This all hit me and inspired me to write as I sat in the sun room in my new home. I was staring at a gorgeous plant and noticed maroon speckles on the bottom, almost like freckles. They were so beautiful and perfectly place. Then I observed that no other leaves had this pattern or color. Simply green. It truly stopped me in my tracks. This was a new leaf. Then i looked to the big, drying up leaves near the bottom. Hanging low and flimsy. Yet, all of them part of the same plant. So perfectly placed and created in union with a single set of roots.

I am still young, but I believe one is never too young to observe their own process of aging. I like it all to be slow, quite and peaceful. I appreciate freshly ground coffee beans, and when I’m up before the sun, and getting to bed early and when I put the perfect amount of honey in my bed time tea. It’s the little things in lift.

So, I must ask, is it about aging or is it about slowing down? Hmmm. You decide.