SERIOUSLY SPEAKING - AGELESS

Can you remember a time when you were really happy with your age?

In retrospect we all look back on how much easier life was at an earlier time.

You know, you were more attractive, thinner, stronger, happier, smarter…

Right.

And were you actually saying it then?

I mean, at age 15 were you saying, "Whoa, life is so easy!"

Or at age 18?

Or 23?

Or… 

Nah.

DANCE WITH IT!   EXPERIENTIAL APPS               An opportunity to experiment with some fun ideas…

HOW OLD ARE YOU?

Here are some things to ponder…

How old do you feel?  Does this change from day to day?

What are your 'pictures' connected to different ages?

How do you divide your life into epochs?

How old is 'old'?

Where did you get your ideas about age?

Do you want to upgrade them?

WHATS AGE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

When I turned 21 I started fretting about getting old.

At the time I was working in a language school and one of the other teachers, a Russian lady of a certain age, asked me what was wrong.  She laughed when I told her. 

"Carol", she said, "life doesn't even begin until you hit 60!  That's when you really come into your own!"

Then there was the friend who had been complaining about how old he was - for the last 30 years!

The final word on this one comes from an 80 year old I met hiking in the mountains outside of Guadalajara, Mexico.  

Here's her take on age:

"When I turned 70," she said, "I was feeling poorly and went to the doctor.  

I described my symptoms, and he shook his head and smiled at me sweetly.  

"Well, you are 70 and this is the way people feel when they get old."

"I looked that idiot straight in the eye and said 'FU'!  Then I went and found another doctor!" 

What do ya say?

Maybe it's time to rethink this one.

SERIOUSLY SPEAKING - BY THE NUMBERS?

At each age we are told how we should:

Look

Act

What our energy level should be

What we should be doing…

My favorite story on this one came from a 80 year old woman I met at a retreat in Mexico.  We lived in huts, hiked the nearby mountains and took mud baths in the sun…

After one particularly strenuous hike I asked her how she did it.  I was huffing and puffing and she was smiling serenely. 

And yes, this is a true story…

"Well," she told me, "10 years ago I was in bad shape.  I went to the doctor who shook his head and said, "You're old and this is what happens."

"I looked him in the eye and said, 'FU!' and found another doctor!"

Inspired?  I sure was!

DANCE WITH IT!   EXPERIENTIAL APPS                           

An opportunity to experiment with some fun ideas…

WHAT ARE YOUR BELIEFS ABOUT AGE… AND HOW DO THEY AFFECT YOU?

Think about the following questions:

How do your beliefs about age make you feel?

          Happy?

          Sad?

          Scared?

          Angry?

What evidence do you use to reinforce what you believe?

Can you understand how you might pick and choose among this data to strengthen your convictions?

Would you consider thinking about age in a new way?

WHAT'S IN A NUMBER?

"Act your age!"

When's the first time you heard this one?

"Well, at your age…"

     And the last time?

Are we nuts about numbers or what?

Were you around to hear Gloria Steinem's famous quote about age? check it out!

When someone told her she looked really good for 40 she responded, "This is what 40 looks like." 

And then there was the Russian lady who heard a young co-worker complaining about turning 21.

"Child," she admonished, "life doesn't even begin until 40…"

What do ya say?

Do you get hung up on this one? 

CAN'T/ SHMANT…

One of the gifts of being of a certain age is that those of us visiting this time in our lives, have actually witnessed - not from a book, but from being there - amazing changes - in technology, medicine, even in our cultural belief systems…

What this gift does is allow us to see - and share - in real time and from personal experience - is that the possibilities really are - well, amazingly open ended.

Hey if we can go from giant clunky black and white TVs to tiny hand held 'movie machines' within the blink of an eye, a little personal change... 

Pfoof!  Nothing to it!

Think I'm kidding?  

Check out some of the fascinating new studies in neurobiology…

What do ya say?

What doors do you want to open?

To explore any of these topics type a key word into the search field on the upper left of the Blog.

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Remember we are also at:  www.thehumandance.com

HOW OLD DO YOU WANT TO BE? AGE 15 AND COUNTING…

Have you noticed that all the models in the magazines – male and female – look like they are about age 16?

The other day I was in a fancy NYC department store and my eyes were drawn to a large glossy image above the cosmetic counter.

The make-up guy noticed me staring.

“Pretty, huh?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said.  “She looks about 16…”

“Nope,” he replied.  “15 – and it’s not one she – it’s two!  They took the nose of one and the lips of another…”

I thought he was joking.

“Not on your life!” he assured me.  “I was there for the photo shoot…”

Is it only me or is there something really twisted here apart from the obvious cheating…

Why do we want to look like we did at 15?  Did you think you were beautiful at that age? Know anyone who did?

Maybe that’s it!  Are we looking for a chance to do a re-play?

Whoa!  Is that a scary thought or what?!

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