Age Gracefully? What does this mean anyway?

As I tentitively, self consciously, rationally and dare I admit it excitedly.... pushed the button on my first ever order of (all natural!!) diet pills today, I knew I had crossed a threshold within myself and passed a point of no return! I had embarked discretely down the route of chemical warfare! Was this good for me, or was it bad? I'm not sure?!

Was I fighting a worthy battle, defending my right to be youthful and sexy for as long as I could afford to.... or capitulating? Was my purchase a moral self defeat? Did I succome to the media driven, relentless, inevitable tide of insecurity and self doubt that creeps up hard and fast once we cross the 40 something threshold? Has my resistance played right into their hands....they who drive social trends and cultural expectations?

Why am I even thinking about it this deeply? Is it guilt I feel for wasting money on my vanity? Maybe! Guilty for cheating, maybe!  Guilty for allowing myself to be seduced by the 'science' and the 90 day money back guarantee, maybe!

Really it's of no consequence anyway... it's as simple as this, I want to wear a sassy monokini this year, not a black 'mummy one-piece' with build in controls and matching cover-up. And I'm to darn lazy to excercise excessively when there's an easy alternative at my finger tips! So it's a morale defeat as well as a moral one? And you know what I don't really care!
What's happened to me?! Aging...that's what's happened! And it's not graceful or anything noble, it's just depressing!

How many of us put ourselves through these sorts of interogations? I doubt I'm the only one, we women are such harsh self critics, it's no wonder there's little grace to be found in the beauty market.


Surely this was exactly what I thought I was fighting against?  Yes, but I don't want to be old and wrinkly and fat ... where is the grace in that? I always imagine graceful stands for elegance and beauty....so? I ask you, which is more graceful? Aging, or fighting to the death?

This is another of those enormous, highly contentious, subjective topics we all have an opinion about.  Those of us who are currently still young and 'naturally' graceful I imagine may judge very differently once they realise their age much like the age of a tree can be so easily determined by observing the girth of our trunks, and the lines and wrinkles inscribed in the layers of our dermis. This isn't graceful, is it?

How do you feel about aging? How far would you got to maintain your youthful appearance?
Is age in the mind? Are you as young as you feel? Is it all worth it? Does it work anyway? And what have we gained and what have we lost? Lots of money that's for sure...but what else?
I always believed myself a feminist, but these days I'm not sure I fit. None of it's clear to me anymore. I don't know that there ever was a clear line for feminism, there are undoubtedly ideals but living with them, maintaining them isn't always in my best interests, or within my natural inclinations. Some days it suits me, some days it doesn't.

I think what we as women all really want is the freedom to be ourselves....whatever shape that comes in, for as long as we like it...or not. What is important to understand is that how we feel about ourselves, really does have a major influence on how we feel about living our lives, how invested we are in life and all it's opportunities.

Surely then ageing gracefully is personal, and has nothing much to do with our external appearance but more with a peaceful, graceful state of mind. Feeling bad about anything is an anathema to a graceful mindset. I'll age gracefully, while happily resisting every day till I die no doubt!