I was listening to Jane Fonda’s views on aging and I had the most unexpected reaction.
I actually thought, “Wow, why didn’t I think of that?”
She was discussing the two metaphors for aging that she’s written about in her new book, Prime Time. In it she draws on research, personal stories and her own life lessons to present a powerful case for living the best years of our lives after midlife.
And she challenged the typical metaphor that most of us use to describe the aging process.
She calls it the Arch. It goes like this.
We’re born, we’re fantastically young, we ride the age wave up-up-up until we peak. And then it’s basically downhill from there. Until we die of course. But that’s way after we peak so we’ve got lots of esoteric sinking to do before that happens.
That’s the Arch, a fairly glum, overly simplistic way to view our lives.
But according to Jane, there’s a far more accurate way to describe our journey through life by using the metaphor of a staircase.
Yes, it’s true our physical bodies are declining but in all the ways that matter ---our hearts, our soul, our wisdom, our spirits--we are continuing to ascend, to grow and to expand ourselves.
It is through this process of growing older that we have a chance to become the person we were meant to be.
…to move closer toward wholeness and peace.
I like to think of it this way:
Everything you’ve experienced in your life so far has prepared you for what’s next.
Now it’s up to you to ask yourself the important questions that matter today; the ones that will keep you ascending upwards toward your potential.
“Am I growing as a person?
“What do I still dream of becoming?”
And what’s stopping me?”
Whether you’re in your thirties or your sixties as you read this post
I think our perspective on growing older is the big game changer.
To hear Jane in her own words click here:
Any thoughts?
xo
Leslie
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