Aging Beautifully

Those of us who appreciate antiques love when an object has developed a beautiful patina over the years. You've heard antique experts advise people not to scrub antique metals. Objects over time that have developed a beautiful patina are even more valuable than those that have had it's character scrubbed away. 

Of course, humans are not valued any more or less regardless of how we age. In fact, we were all created equally and we all remain equal. We do not develop a patina. But, we do have the option and ability to nourish our own character. We can choose to age beautifully, to become even more beautiful as we age. When we continue to treat others with kindness over time, that becomes part of our character. When we continue to teach ourselves new things throughout our lives, that becomes part of our character. If we have an ego that we let get out of hand, or we're self righteous about what makes us better than others, or we brag to boost our image, over time that becomes part of our character. That's why some people have the reputation for being the egotistical, self righteous bragger (known to some people, simply as "the jerk"). Have you ever noticed that jerks don't even seem to realize that they are jerks? They've been that way so long that it's become a part of their character - they've become KNOWN for those traits - but they don't even know it themselves. 

So, that brings me to how we can age beautifully. As you can see in the video, the woman not only takes care of herself, but she also helps others who take her class. I don't know her, and I have only seen her in this YouTube video, but right from the beginning she seems to have such a youthful, beautiful spirit. She has a fantastic smile, a great sense of humor, and she can talk about what she's great at doing without bragging or being self righteous about it. You can tell that she's just humbly sharing. Plus, she's learned throughout her life, and she's quick to admit her weaknesses and what she has learned from them. She now chooses to do her very best at whatever she is doing. I found myself very inspired by her for several reasons.

She not only still practices yoga at the age of 89, but she TEACHES yoga. She seems to teach in such a friendly way too, without any hint of an ego, so the rest of the people in the class seem to be at ease around her. And did you hear what she said about how she had arthritis in her 30's? Well, look at her now! Wow! I think her yoga has certainly helped in her life, and her attitude and beautiful spirit have helped her as well. When I talk about aging beautifully, I'm talking about how we treat ourselves and how we treat others. But, she does look beautiful as well, doesn't she? And such a sense of style!

Thank you to SpeakingCircles for posting this on YouTube, and thank you to Barbara Lyon, the woman in the video, for being an inspiration today! The info with the YouTube video stated that she was interviewed in this movie by Lee Glickstein, www.speakingcircles.com. Worth checking out!