“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young. “
Henry Ford
How have you approached aging? I saw this Harper’s Bazaar Netherlands May 2019 editorial of beauty in women of varying ages and also thought about how we age as well. I mentioned once that I only truly became afraid of aging when I saw my grandfather becoming increasingly frail. He used to accompany me on field trips and socialized at the local community center. But he moved away and got older. When I visited him, he became so much more afraid of falling and having his body betray him. He wasn’t as interested in many of the activities that previously interested him. He was now older because he simply gave up on certain things.
I see this to some degree with my father as well. While he is still an avid reader of news, he barely exercises or leaves the house. So his mind may be active, but he is reticent and he just doesn’t want to move. He now truly looks older as well and I didn’t realize it until my last visit home.
Of course I am concerned with physical manifestations of aging and love seeing editorials like this that embrace beauty at different ages. I’m also genuinely interested in seeing what ingredients work for my skin and how I can protect not just my skin, but that of my kids as well. But aging isn’t just about a different outward appearance, but a shift in mindset as well.
I’ve learned from my family and will certainly keep reading and be apprised of current events. I will also keep learning and picking up on some things I dropped off. With the internet as my witness, I vow to finally get one of the Google certifications I studied for previously (hopefully I get it within one or two tries!) I am also going to pick up my camera again and really refresh the technical aspects in my head.
I can certainly thank my loved ones from my parents as well as my kids and husband for stoking a love of learning. We all get lazy or busy and may not pick up a book or dig deeper into what was once an enthralling activity. But isn’t life more interesting if we are doing interesting things?
Have a lovely week!
i think it’s so important to keep moving the mind and body. I find that when one is stopped, it becomes worse and lost. these photos and the quote are so beautiful. Have a great week lovely x
I think staying active is important as we age. My parents are very active and my in-laws too and I find that doing so keep them alert and ‘young’. I think the real danger is when you stop doing stuff and your mind and body slowly shut down.
I like how they used women of different ages here as well. And I am not scared of aging, but I totally get what you mean. It’s good to exercise both your mind and your body as you get older. Kudos to you on the going for the certificates. I think I need some certificates in my life, too.
Not sure my comment went through, but I basically said kudos to you for going for your certificate and that I think it’s great to keep both the mind and body active as we age.
I’m also big on constantly learning new things. I think doing that helps our minds stay active and stimulated. As fasr as the physical manifestations of aging, I’m not too worried because my mom looks great and I have her genes. I’ also have good skin and diet habits which I think will help. and people always think I look younger than my age anyway especially since I wear minimal makeup these days.
It’s a beautiful editorial and I agree, people who have a passion project or a hobby, something that fires them up, seem much younger than they are! Learning is a great thing at any age 🙂
Hope that your week is going well! 🙂