1016178_10151705693098293_1608481938_nB Body

 Our own body is the best health system we have – if we knew how to listen to it.

Christiane Northrup

 What do we make of the aging of our bodies? Now that the aging years are upon us, and visible, we cannot deny them. We look in the mirror and see those wrinkles on our faces – around our eyes, our mouths, a neck less defined. Arms less taut, legs less firm. We see a body that is very different to the one we had when we were in our 20’s or 30’s or 40’s.

‘Body’ is an issue not properly addressed or understood for its psychological significance. We all have different emotions when we contemplate our changing bodies. If we see with eyes wide open and are graceful, even grateful, in accepting the wear and tear when we see the evidence in the mirror, we are fortunate. We are especially fortunate if we are healthy. But It is one of those subjects we would rather not talk or think about too much, perhaps in part because we do not want to accept the reality of aging, of itself, and especially because of how our bodies age. It’s what we see – and what everyone else also sees.

 There may be a sense of loss of youth and all that it stands for. Our energy may be diminished and we cannot accomplish what we did all those years ago.

 What of it? We may have climbed mountains or dived into deep seas in our younger years. Does this mean that we have come to the end of the road? Can we journey no longer?

Not at all – as our bodies shift and re-shape, so do our energies, in ways different to before.

 What do I make of this? I am different, I am older, I am within the radar of ‘old-age’. It looms; and if not large, it is still there.

Who am I now? This is the essential question. My psyche inhabits my body. I honour them both as they interact with each other. I ask the question: can I inhabit the moment, and accept the oscillation between sorrow, loss, joy and movement. Body language is both body and psyche, conscious and unconscious, and reveals how carefully we listen and attend to the whole scenario.

 Of course our bodies have changed over the years. And they will continue undergoing change as we move into becoming older. The slings and arrows that life throws at us may incapacitate us in physical and psychological ways. We do regenerate but at a slower pace …

 Can we make use of this opportunity as we age and turn our ever-present energies to a more depthful attitude towards this issue of aging? Can we see aging as yet another stage of growth? Will we take pride in our bodies we inhabit? Can we let go of the myth that continues being perpetuated i.e. older bodies are distasteful?

What do you think of your body as you age?

39 Comments on B – Body

  1. mmmmm Yolande, what can i say? Join the club? But not too late to rectify .. you know what you know and we all make mistakes – we can learn from them.

  3. My only real problem is the is the ‘disconnect’ between how I feel on the inside and how I look on the outside. I don’t feel 63…I feel much the same as I did when I was 33. That is a good thing, I know, because my mind is staying young and encouraging me to do the right things for my own well-being. My mum once told me, when I first put colour into my hair at age 51, to grow old gracefully. I informed her that I had no plans to grow up or old any time soon. I agree that age is a state of mind.

  4. In a world that gives over-emphasis on body and looks, after a certain age it is difficult to keep up with persona and fashion trends and then we realize that’s when we have truly started living. I suppose ( ..just a humble half-baked opinion of a 25 year old!)

    • Thanks for your comment Shahira. Life is worth living at any age but you’re so right – ‘keeping up’ with fashion trends is hardly living!

  5. Thank you, Susan, for another lovely post. When we talk of aging as a woman it’s often with reference to physical appearance but I guess my mind has changed too over the years. Change is happening throughout our lives and, whether we like it or not, age happens to all of us. It’s about adapting to each decade as it comes and being happy with who you are 🙂

    • Thank you Sharon – whether we like it or not – we may as well like it, or if not try to accept it. Adaptation to each decade – that’s so well put!

  6. Hi,
    I enjoyed reading this article on the body. I feel it is so important that women and men accept who they are. Women especially have a hard time due to the ever present media hype
    that puts our bodily appearance in the fore front.
    The acceptance of who we are and what we are has a lot to do with our maintaining a healthy body.

    Shalom,
    Patricia

    • Thanks Patricia for saying about acceptance of who and what we are influences to a great extent our physical health also. Not always but it plays its part.
      Thank you so much for stopping by. I appreciate this so much.

  7. At forty nine I’m…with maybe a bit of panic…trying!
    I’ve upped my diet and exercise to help the body look and feel better…but coping with an aging body…well its all in the mind! If you believe you look great you will, likewise if you believe you look old and haggard, I can guarantee that’s the imagine you are projecting to others.
    Doesn’t matter what you do with your body…it’s what you think that creates your reality…and that’s the hard bit!
    Maggie@Expatbrazil

    • Dear Maggie;
      The body is different from the mind and neither want denial. Rather, the caring attention is needed for both.
      Regards,
      Susan in Arizona

  8. Keeps me young, I meant to say.

    One thing — is it my aging eyes, my aging computer, or is this pale gray type in these reply boxes just barely visible?

    • Thanks Samantha .. it looks a bit pale-ish to me too. My eyes, your eyes? I’ll ‘look’ into it. Curiosity is the best!

  9. I need to stop inhabiting my computer chair and exchange some of those hours for exercise. As Gwynn put it, this last third is trepidatious. Yet, as Robert says, I remain curious about the future; I don’t want to miss anything. This latter quest keeps my young, inside and hopefully outside.

  10. A lovely post, Susan, and a gentle reminder that we are what we put into our bodies and minds. A healthy outlook, the right foods, and a goodly amount of exercise help maintain and even improve what we have been given as we age.

    • Thank you for your comment Dawn. The combination you say is just right, though it is true that in spite of all of this, life sometimes comes at us left field whether through our own experience or those of loved ones.

  11. Ah, Susan well said and with grace and beauty. Our bodies, they change so fast after a certain age. I just got back from the doctor where I had an ultrasound to determine the lump in my underarm was nothing dangerous, just a nodule. But the worries held me prisoner for a few days. That is probably where the psyche inhabiting the body comes in. I was able to dismiss the thoughts up to a point. I think our bodies are good to us if we are good to them, although many other factors come in as well.
    Thank you for another most enjoyable post.

    • Dear Silvia;
      Times are there for us to focus on body and its needs. They change daily so fast–like how lie goes by. The responsibility to be in connection remains an opportunity.
      Regards,
      Susan in Arizona

    • Hi Sylvia, I’m adding to what Susan said – to say glad that the underarm nodule was just that. What an image – being held prisoner for a few days. You put that so well.
      Thank you so much for your comment.

  12. aging sucks! but you put it into perspective and made it more elegant =)

    i was hoping for a deeper benefit of our bodies deteriorating… but we just have to accept, live well while we can, and make the most of what we have been blessed with. it was nice to relate with you!

    happy b day!

    • Dear Tara;
      A deeper understanding maybe comes with the search for meaning and widening perspectives. Maybe it will not be so awful…
      Regards,
      Susan

  13. Tough one that! Ever mindful of continuous media messages to ‘take note’ of keeping our bodies slimmer, better, fitter etc….its tough to work through that mapping…but yes, acceptance of the inevitable change aging brings is so important…..
    x

    • Thanks Didi for stopping by. Not the easiest thing to accept with ongoing media messages about beauty, youth etc. Acceptance of ourselves – not easy, not impossible.

  14. When I see someone who has tried to fight the effects of aging with plastic surgery and other means, I feel pity for what they’ve done to themselves because you know their self esteem must be fairly low to endure such procedures. They’ve become a caricature of their prior selves. Much can be said for allowing yourself to age gracefully. Compare celebrities like Joan Van Ark and Helen Mirren. Joan doesn’t even look human anymore, but Helen is absolutely beautiful, despite of (or rather because of) her wrinkles. I love how she has allowed herself to age. The confidence she shows by owning it radiates from her being. Nice post.

    • Dear Melissa;
      Fighting seems a difficult way to go. The inner world wants acceptance of change and to work with it, not deny or take it away.
      Regards,
      Susan in Arizona

  15. Thank you dear Gwynn. Last third .. seems quite stark put like that. May your body and mind co-operate so that you are in less pain. And let the soul speak as well …

  16. My body definitely has changed, but I’m comfortable with the way my body has aged on the “outside” but the problems in my back make me feel much older. Then it is hard for me to face that this is the “last third” of my life, and I don’t want to spend this time in great pain. I wish my body and my mind would work together.

    Thank you for your wise and insightful post as always. I do enjoy your posts.

  17. My 51-year-old body is not the same as it was when I was in my 20s, but that’s okay. I eat right and exercise, and as long as I continue to do those two things, I will accept my body the way it is. It’s always sad for me to see celebrities destroy their bodies with plastic surgery and starvation. It never looks good, and they end up looking worse. Hollywood puts such pressure on women to look young. I’m glad I’m not a Hollywood celebrity.

    • Thank you for commenting Jolie. I eat better these days (not always); better than when I was e.g. in my 20’s. And like you I am more conscious of this and the value of exercise. Guess we learn these things as we get older?

  18. Oh Susan and carolyn, defo a state of mind. I love my aging self, I plan to be outrageous, daring and everything I’ve been afraid to be until now. It’s a pity I waited so long…now if I can get the doc’s to sort the back and hip…:)

  19. Aging! An inevitable obstacle? Never, I am fitter, more energetic and healthier than I was in my younger years and still enjoy going to rock concerts, festivals, camping, markets, the beach … Aging is a state of mind.

    Good luck with the Challenge.

    CarolynBrown-Books

    • Hi Carolyn, thanks for stopping by.
      Did we say ‘obstacle’?
      Great that you are fit, healthy in body & mind. May your enjoyment of life never cease. Our posts look at the other side of aging, that side that is not much talked about.
      All best.

  21. Encouraging thoughts. Aging gives us time for mindfulness.

    My intention is to hang in there as long as I can; just to see what happens.

    R.

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