newwrinklethemovie

Youth is Overrated

This New Wrinkle project has been a journey for me. Like a news reporter, I started with a clear angle of how I wanted it to go, specifically focusing on the fear of aging. But after talking to a friend of mine, Barbara, who is about to turn 60, I started to get a new perspective. She told me that she’s actually happier at this age than any other. Ok, you hear that stuff from time to time, but listening to her pour out her thoughts and feelings, I knew it was truly how she felt.

“Youth is overrated,” she said. “You take so much for granted and spend so much time and energy on meaningless things.” I took an inventory of my life and realized all the endless time I spent obsessing over what someone said or what I was going to wear, or if he liked me.

At a certain age men and women take a look at their own mortality. While this can be intensely painful and scary, it’s also a chance to get serious about what really matters.

“Now I want to do things that make a difference in the world, to truly love people for who they are, enjoy the things that make me happy,” Barbara said, “like birding and photography.” She went on to say, “Fear of getting older was weighing me down until I realized that I had the power to release it.”

At the same time I was writing this blog I took a quick break to browse Facebook (admit I am a bit addicted) and the first thing that popped up where these words from author Brene’ Brown:

“I think midlife is when the universe places her hands upon your shoulders, pulls you close and whispers in your ear:

I’m not screwing around. It’s time. All of this pretending and performing – these coping mechanism that you’ve developed to protect yourself from feeling inadequate and getting hurt – has to go.”

These two wise women inspired me to spread their views on the joy of aging instead of the fear of aging.

Newwrinklethemovie.com is really about my coming to terms with growing older. It gives me an opportunity to help create a dialogue that is sorely missing in our youth obsessed culture. I hope you will contribute and talk to other women and men about your feelings as we all take this journey together.