As we grow older, our definition of “old” keeps changing. When we were kids, we thought 30 was old. Some of my friends almost had a meltdown when that age approached. I don’t know what they were expecting… perhaps all their hair and teeth would fall out?

If you have begun to notice more TV commercials about estate planning, denture cream and Depends, you are among that very large and influential baby boomer population. That makes you a target group for advertising executives. And, nothing makes you realize that more than receiving those mailings from AARP. Yikes! When did this all happen? I feel the same as I did when I was in my 30s, even better!

Our cultural beliefs and years of programming give us inaccurate ideas about aging.

In 1993, Deepak Chopra presented a unique perspective on this. In the now classic text Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, the essential message was that “...the human body was not a piece of biological machinery that deteriorates steadily and inexorably over time. Rather, human beings are magnificently organized networks of energy, information and intelligence in dynamic exchange with their environment, fully capable of transformation and renewal.” What a refreshing perspective. This means that we are fully capable of living in these physical bodies well over the 100 year mark, into the 120s and further, if we have the desire to do so.

I’ve begun to observe a different pattern developing with our older people. I’ve spotted them on long walks, working out at the spa, actively involved in their communities and even working in fast food restaurants. Here is a whole population of capable, efficient people that want to and are able to be productive. So I say, why shouldn’t they be? Just because a person has a certain number of years on the planet doesn’t make them any less able to live life fully and enjoy it to the max.

For example, I have a delightful spirit in my life, my mother’s first cousin, Mae. She is 88 by earth years, but you wouldn’t know it. Her zest for living and for squeezing the deliciousness out of each and every day is a joyous inspiration to everyone who knows or has any contact with her. If you call her during the daytime, she’s never at home. She could be out at the Finnish Center where she volunteers her time. Or she could be traveling up north, driving herself to the tip of upper Michigan (where she was born) just for a visit. Or she could be shopping with her grandchildren. Or she could be helping out at the phenomeNEWS office, like she does every month when we receive copies back from the printer.

Wherever Mae is, people are just naturally drawn to her. There’s something inside that sparkles. Her laughter and joy are contagious. She is one of those rare beings that brightens a room just by walking into it. I’m so grateful to have her wonderful presence in my life. What a blessing. And, what a role model! She proves to me every day that aging is just a state of mind.

One of my favorite sit-coms on TV is the Golden Girls. All of the main characters were women in their so-called Golden Years. I love how they were depicted… as successful, interested in life, witty, active, learning, adventurous… all wonderful human attributes to be cultivated at any age.

To paraphrase the popular poem from our cover... Let’s be sillier, take fewer things seriously, take more chances, climb more mountains and swim more rivers. Let’s eat more ice cream and less beans. Let’s start barefoot earlier in the year and stay that way later in the fall. Let’s go to more dances, ride more merry-go-rounds. Let’s pick more daisies.

Let’s live our lives like Mae and those other wonderful joy-filled spirits that demonstrate for us that it’s never too late to have a happy, exciting, fulfilling life.