Finding perspective and peace with age

Yep, it happened. Everyone said it would happen overnight and boy were they right. I had been resisting it for a while. You know, reaching the arm out just a bit further or backing my head up a bit. Then I had to reach further or back up more. I had heard there is no going back once you succumb to the use of cheaters, readers, glasses, whatever you want to call them. Sigh. You’ll have to have a pair everywhere. Well, I was determined to resist as long as possible. While at the dollar store a few months back, I did grab a couple of pairs just so I could paint my daughters’ fingernails. That was the first thing I had noticed…I couldn’t see to put the nail polish exactly where it needed to go. I didn’t see the harm in that because I used them so rarely.

Fast forward several months and I was noticing in the mornings I couldn’t see very well. Still, I resisted and just gave my eyes a few minutes to adjust. Then, finally one day, you put those readers on and it’s like you hear the angels sing hallelujah from heaven and you can see clearly! That tiny print is legible, and you decide it’s better to use them because you can read so much faster if you just put the dang things on your face. Before I knew it, it seemed like my eyes changed overnight and I was having to reach for the glasses more often. 

Does it really bother me? No – I’m choosing to age with grace and embrace all that age brings. More peace with myself, more self-awareness, more patience and…readers. 

Our culture places so much value and attention on outside appearance and unfortunately, it’s a losing battle. From a young age, we are inundated with false images of perfection and it sticks with us as if it’s the truth of what we are all supposed to look like. It’s no secret – we’ve also been told from a young age that those images are photo-shopped and to pay no attention but that is so much easier said than done.

The mind is powerful and even though you know those images are unrealistic and fake, that same mind is telling you that you desperately want to look like that. We tell ourselves we need to look a certain way, keep our house a certain way, have our kids look or dress a certain way, but why? There will always be someone skinnier than you, stronger than you, faster than you, someone that drives the car you desperately want or someone that has the perfect house you’ve always dreamed of. It’s called the comparison game and it’s a slippery slope we all struggle with and it slides right down to feeling insecure, not good enough and just plain sad. 

If this is you, it doesn’t have to be that way or feel that way! You can let those things consume you or you can let them go and focus on things that matter more. In all honesty, you are your harshest critic and other people are actually thinking about themselves and not about you. Focus on your own personal goals of what beauty looks like for YOU, not the magazine cover, not that seemingly perfect lady down the street, not anyone else but YOU! Embrace yourself the way you are now and know that no one else’s opinion of you should matter. If you aren’t happy with yourself right now, then create your own goals that belong to YOU and find the steps to get there but also find perspective in loving yourself along the way and appreciating all the small accomplishments. 

If you let it, age can provide a perspective like no other. Choosing to embrace the changes of life rather than begrudging them is freeing. Choosing to focus on the lessons you’ve learned, the people you’ve encountered who have influenced your life for the better or even still, taught you how not to act or how not to handle certain situations. Choosing to focus on what you have instead of what you don’t. 

Choose today to see clearly and take hold of what you want in life. Embrace all that is you – the good, the bad, the ugly, but choose to focus on the good. I may need to use readers sometimes, but I wouldn’t trade all the lessons I’ve learned in life for perfect eyes.