Is 60 the new 40? As I step into this next decade, that affirmation plays like a mantra in my head.
My husband keeps asking, “How does it feel to be 60?” When I was a child, 60 felt ancient—grandmas wore sensible shoes and permed their hair. So yes, it’s a strange feeling stepping into a new decade, especially the dreaded one where you’re suddenly classified as a “senior.”
Honestly, I expected some kind of existential crisis with this milestone birthday. But in the weeks leading up to “the day,” I was surprisingly calm.
I’ve never been one to get overly emotional about birthdays, and turning 60 didn’t shake me either. I live an active life and am more physically fit than I’ve ever been. We’re also living in a cultural revolution around how we see aging—especially for women.
Menopause once marked the supposed “decline” of a woman’s life, but we’re redefining that notion. Now, this stage is about growth, exploration, and celebrating life in ways that feel deeply fulfilling.
For me, fulfillment also means embracing aging with love and acceptance. Yes, I’m active and strong, but my body still reminds me of the years. I need more sleep, I eat better, and I tend to the inevitable aches and pains.
When I look in the mirror, I try to welcome the changes I see. With the “silver revolution” in full swing, I even find myself wishing I had more gray.
Recently, I came across this question in an article: “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?” It stopped me for a moment. Most days I feel and act younger than 60, and if I had to guess my age, I’d probably say 50.
Who we surround ourselves with can also shape how we age. When I see my friend in her 70s hiking the jungles of Panama, I feel inspired. When I watch two of my yoga students in their late 70s deepening their practice, I feel joy. When I see women worldwide in Sole Sister Ramblers leading vibrant, adventurous lives, I feel hope.
So yes, maybe 60 is the new 40. We’re living longer, healthier lives, and feeling younger than the generations before us. And that, my Sole Sisters, is something worth celebrating.
As you Ramble into your week, I leave you with this question: How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
I’ll end with the beautiful writing of Debatrayee Banerjee. It’s a little longer than usual, but worth taking the time to savor.
Aging with All My Self.
To my younger self,
I'm not twenty-something anymore, and in just a month's time I shall walk into another decade of a whole new experience. I don't have youth on my side, but I have a heart of Life enlightened with the very spirit of Life itself, something that draws youth on its lap.
Wisdom has been churned out from the mistakes and failures, and lessons have been disguised as soul fillers, and gratitude dances on my lips, waving my heart with a bunch of memories. Perhaps, the memories have been earned. Earned at the cost of those lost turns, cold betrayals, numb tears, forced smiles and a voyage walking through a rainbow of mad jest of Life.
With that being said, I wouldn't go back and change even a bit. Through all of that heartache, I have unearthed a heart that is resilient, and pliant, I have met a soul that is strong and loving, and deeper than any thousand paged novel I could get lost in. I have come across beautiful souls in beautiful lands, I have soaked in different cultures and walked my way through observing hearts, listening to stories that run beyond time and tide.
I have grown with each one of those smiles and tears, the sands of places that mark my soles make my soul whole in a strange but palpable tune. I have got lost in pathways and met a gypsy soul wandering in the space of infinite time, weaving moments through Life to take back a bunch of images and experiences from a journey called Life.
My story has been filled with pages of ups and downs and my cup of Life has had several toxic turns, but in all of that, I have grown, along with one or two grey hair. My pages have often tasted Life in the most happy hue from voyages and dreams that kept overlapping and smiling across the tips of Time.
And all of this, has helped me to nurture and nourish an invincible desire to live a life, with a passion no longer on hold, but a heart that is free forever to fly in the tunes of its own whisper.
So as I open another day, walking closer to close the page of this twenty-something, I wear a smile that the youth of wisdom paints on my heart. And age, with all the grace that only Age can bring, while loving, forgiving and embracing my younger self in every air of Time.
Love,
A soul aging gracefully with the Smile of Life.
Debatrayee Banerjee
READ MORE > Jane's Mindful Musings, Rambler Cafe Blog
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