What ever happened to aging gracefully? Everywhere I look I see ads for Botox and implants, injections and surgeries. The television is filled with young and beautiful woman but have you noticed they are becoming a bit plastic looking? Have you noticed? Their features seem to all blend together and it is hard to tell one woman from the other. I was at a department store last weekend. The young woman waiting on me at the cosmetic counter was 26 years old. 26 years old and she nonchalantly informed me she "had" to do botox because the lines in her forehead were just too awful.
What are we teaching our young women? If we run to every new anti-aging gimmick that appears, what are we saying about ourselves? We can blame the media and we can blame the doctors and drug companies. And while I myself like to blame the drug companies for much of our woes as a society, we are the ones that must stop and look at ourselves with brutal honesty. What are we afraid of? As for me, it is very hard to let go of the "image" in my head. The image of me in my younger days. The image of the beautiful young woman, the "babe'.
The "babe" years are gone. No matter how much I inject and pull, tug and shrink, I will never be a "babe" again. But this is how it should be. Now I can be the complete woman I was always meant to be. I can be attractive and sensual in a new and more powerful way because I am no longer the "babe". Every stage of our lives are filled with wonder and beauty. The clarity and confidence of women who have reached a certain age, is a breathtaking aphrodisiac also. A woman who is fully owning her years and her wrinkles as well as her wisdom and humor. A woman who is unapologetic for gray hair and laugh lines. A woman who carries herself with elegance and dignity. A woman who is confident of herself and proud of her choices. That's the sensuous woman I want to be. The woman I want to model for my girls.
I will always care about my appearance as the above Inner Critic card shows quite eloquently. I will always have a little voice in my head urging me to be better, dress nicer, lose more weight. It is one of my many inner voices that I have become friends with. The shadow side may be terribly critical but she only wants me to be my very best. She only wants me to be loved and cherished. The catch is, I must love and cherish myself before I can expect it from anyone else. Together, we will continue down this path to wholeness one day at a time. Hold the Botox, please!
oh, i couldn't agree more!
maybe we should start a "natural woman" magazine......full of beautiful, gracefully aging women........no botox, surgery and photo shop allowed!!
pure, raw, honest beauty.....now there's a concept!
xo
kim
Posted by: kim beller | February 05, 2009 at 07:38 PM
Well said, I tell my friends that I intend to age beautifully. I have found the less products I use on my skin the better it looks. I like that idea for a "Natural Women" magazine. Good post thanks for sharing your honest thoughts on a touchy subject.
Posted by: [email protected] | February 05, 2009 at 09:02 PM
You must've been inside my head with this one Kathy....As Kim said above, couldn't agree with you more. I am so glad I'm not a 16 year old girl in 2009. I wouldn't be able to handle it. I thought there was pressure when I was young and even in my mid-20's but now, it's at it's highest. The inner critic is still with me at age 41 and I look in the mirror and know I'm 41, but I see Jennifer at 21. YOU Kathy... are truly a babe, and always will be. You are gorgeous inside and out and have such a light around you that radiates to those in your life. I could only hope that I have that some day... so aging gracefully? We've got it made!
Posted by: Jennifer White | February 06, 2009 at 01:49 AM
i saw a woman on news tv this week, and said to my husband, look! She is like a plastic molded barbie doll, only she was African American... and it was frightening ot look, too beautiful in a sense that evokes fake is fake.
Posted by: mansuetude | February 09, 2009 at 10:09 PM
Amen! Say no to plastic. Say yes to me!
Posted by: Shalet | February 11, 2009 at 12:22 AM
I so agree! Be real, be beautiful the way we are.
Posted by: Leslie Avon Miller | February 26, 2009 at 12:10 PM