Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis
I recently watched a Today Show interview with Jane Fonda. Jane has been the center of a lot of controversy in her life, but I must say I really appreciated what she had to say about aging. As of this writing, Fonda is 82 years old, and she looks like a million dollars. Now maybe it cost her a million dollars to look that good, but honestly, I was more impressed by her wisdom on aging. She has authored a book entitled Prime Time in which she declares this time in her life as her third act. She says her mission is no longer one of protest but of promotion. At this point in her life, she is campaigning for anything that will help Seniors live the good life; hormone replacement, exercise routines, active love life, etc. She has not escaped the effects of the aging process herself: she has had a knee and hip replacement and had a lumpectomy for breast cancer. She is all about deep-sixing preconceived notions about what Senior Citizenship is like.
I do not have the platform that Jane has, but I’ve been about getting rid of preconceived notions about aging for many years. I would agree with her that there are very few road maps for negotiating your 70s, 80s, and 90s. Jane calls it starch in her spine. In other words, she faces the aging process head-on. It does no good to run and hide or be in denial. She said, “It takes a great attitude to stand tall like you have starch in your spine!” People who age successfully are those that have a lot of love and purpose in their lives. She said it wasn’t important where that love and purpose originate, but that to be genuinely alive, you have to have it in your life. She says you need to be around positive, loving people. I’m all about campaigning for a long and productive third act!
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