Aging Gratefully

By Sondra Forsyth

When your birthday rolls around every year, are you glad to be alive? Or have society’s anti-aging messages made you feel as though being another year older is a downer? If the latter is true for you, let me try to help you age gratefully.

Perhaps you do have chronic disabilities or illnesses that make life less than ideal. When that is the case, I certainly sympathize. Even so, my guess is that there are those who love and care about you and are very glad you’re a part of their lives. And even if that is somehow not true, perhaps you can find a way to broaden your circle of contacts. In particular, if you reach out to those who are in some way or ways less fortunate than you are, you will almost certainly gain a more positive view of life.

What I do bemoan is that in our society the word “elderly” almost always has a negative connotation. Here at thirdAGE we celebrate aging, just as Native Americans always have when they use the word “elders”.

So, yes, aim to age gracefully but also – and more important – aim to age gratefully. As the old saw goes, getting older is better than the alternative. In fact the truth is that getting older is also in many ways better than being younger. Think back to the years when you were, I’m guessing, struggling to establish yourself in a career and maybe also bringing up a family. Talk about multitasking! Chances are that your life is less demanding and potentially more personally enjoyable now.

I have no way of knowing what your situation is, but I am hoping that you are in a position to be thankful for every year more of your life. Here’s to you and to aging gratefully!

Sondra Forsyth is a Co-Editor-in-Chief of ThirdAge.com. She is a National Magazine Award winner with scores of major magazine bylines and twelve books to her credit. Her most recent book is “Candida Cleanse: The 21-Day Diet to Beat Yeast and Feel Your Best”. Sondra was Executive Editor at “Ladies’ Home Journal”, Features Editor at “Cosmopolitan,” and Articles Editor at “Bride’s”. A former ballerina, she founded Ballet Ambassadors, an arts-in-education company in New York City, and served as Artistic Director for 16 years.