Tuesday, April 26, 2011

"Girls" Should You Act Your Age?

ALOHA !



today's song-







"How old would you be 
if you didn't know
how old you were?"

  ~Satchel Paige






"You can't hide your true colours
as you approach the autumn of your life."

Author Unknown







"It's sad to grow old, but nice to ripen."

  Brigitte Bardot


 










I always knew that, with luck,
someday I'd be 50.

But never really believed it.

(No, today is NOT my birthday - yet :)


"I'm not old, just not young anymore."
said ex-screen star Alexandra Del Lago
in the film Sweet Bird of Youth.

One day in my early thirties,
I realized that I was the star
of every commercial, movie, TV show, magazine.
Everywhere I looked, things were being sold to me,
or by a woman like me.

We value what is hard to get.
  A young woman like I was then
is awash in testosterone.
(And perhaps hard to get)
  Men are everywhere
and she can read their minds,
because they all think alike.

If you read my novel, you know
that I have some familiarity with the sex industry
which is, after all,
the trafficking in beauty & desire.

But I remember too the longing
to be more than a sex object.

Too bad we can't bottle youth's surplus
of beauty & attraction
for days of scarcity!
Those days when we become
largely invisible
middle aged women.

And some of today's invisibility
would have been a comfort back then!

Joan Collins said,
"The problem with beauty
is that it's like being born rich
and getting poorer."


I still remember that time (years back now)
when I put on my make up and didn't see
the glow,
the magic in my mirror.

All I saw was me wearing make up:
the wealth was spent,
the illusion had fled!

Now I'm discovering the power
that comes to a
reasonably nice-looking
older woman;

The power to bless.




Younger people can act tiresome.

Young women can seem vain & shallow,

(just like I did.
I can read their minds, you see.)

But I smile like Buddha or Kwan Yin
or Mary,
blessing the people around me.

Sincerely.

I hope I look savvy, 
 kind,
and approachable
as I broadcast:

"Celebrate your beauty,
your choices,
your mistakes.
  That's the text of your life
out of which
you will tease the meaning
of
your personality &amp problems
from a wiser shore.



"The years teach much
which the days never knew."

  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


I want them to see
that growing older is wonderful,
not a tragedy.

  They need that gift
in our youth obsessed
"culture."

"Look at me, I'm old but I'm happy."
sings Cat Stevens` Father in the song.

Regret is futile, ugly, and soul crushing:
for you and everyone else around you.

And besides, 
I don't want to look back from 
real "old age" and regret 
that I began to feel 'old'
in my comparatively young 50s!

After all:

"Fifty is the youth of old age."

  ~Victor Hugo



And there is still much adventure ahead!

Besides:


"Everyone is the age of their heart."

  Guatemalan Proverb

And

"We turn not older with years,
but newer every day."

  Emily Dickinson


 Besides,
denying one's age
merely alienates one
from one's self. . . 

Kindly leave a comment:
         How old do you feel today? cloudia


46 comments:

Feisty Crone said...

I feel about 22 today, thanks so much for asking!

Teresa said...

I feel 15 going on 52! Love today's post.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes I wish to be less than 18, other times much more than 60 years of age.

Being caught in the between, far too many times feels difficult, yet somehow impossible to avoid.

Thank you for this exercise of the mind. Please have a good Wednesday.

Hilary said...

I can remember thinking I'd never make it to 18.. I just couldn't picture myself at that advanced age... sigh! ;)

Dianne said...

I feel sweet 16 ;)

I love the quotes
and the photos are so touching

Elephant's Child said...

I wouldn't be a teenager again for anyone. All that pain - 28 though, that had merits. But, essentially I am mostly comfortable with who I am - age and all. Great post as always. Thanks.

Marguerite said...

Lovely post! I feel young every day, and have been blessed with wonderful health and abundant energy, my entire life.

Cloudia said...

Thank You, play mate!

Rosaria Williams said...

I'm old enough to be your mother, Cloudia, and can say with certainty that turning fifty turned out better than turning forty.

I no longer worried about my beauty; I began to enjoy it. Fifty is the time to take a good look at how you have become and enjoy every minute from now on.

Happy Birthday!

Cloudia said...

Thank YOU for that wisdom

wenn said...

i don't feel my age..

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

Considerably younger after reading this lovely treatise on aging!

SandyCarlson said...

My young dude and your old dude--we affirm life.

I think the ultimate thing is to be desired for ourselves through and through. That's an experience that requires parties over the 30 mark!

Pietro Brosio said...

Beautiful post. I feel about 20 today!

Anonymous said...

Lovely post... I feel about 30 inside although my body says otherwise!

Enjoy the glow of middle age!

magiceye said...

hmmm dont feel old at all.... just that have started changing as per the requirements of a tired body :)

namaste /\ from mumbai
aloha!!

Windsmoke. said...

The only time you feel old is when you give up on life and just want to die Bollocks to that i'm 56 going on 30 and hope to stay that way for a long time to come :-).

nazelet said...

I love th man paddling his surfboard. He is still juicy and a lover!

And the beautiful black woman.... from a princess to a Queen. No. An Emperess!

Happy Birthday, birthday girl!

Commander Zaius said...

Mentally I am 12, and hope to stay that way.

Reader Wil said...

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.... I know some people who are not exactly beautiful by miss World standards, but they are so nice to be with and they know so much and are so lovely, that I call them beautiful. And I know goodlooking people who are so boring and not interesting at all.
Dear Cloudia:you are beautiful and interesting!
Groeten, Wil.

claude said...

I cant see BB. She was so pretty when she was young but she is getting old very badly.
I love some quotes.
I am 63 YO and I am young in my head and spirit.
Aloha, Cloudia !

Hattie said...

I LOVE Brian Aldiss!!!!! I must write to him. He is getting on, and I want to let him know that how much his work means to me.
And I am so happy with all the creative things my friends and I are doing in old age. We're finding it to be the best time of our lives!!!!!

Kay said...

I feel about 35.

This is such a fabulous post, Cloudia. It sure does strike a chord. I never had any surplus of beauty, but when I look in the mirror now... you're right. I do see an older woman wearing make-up and I don't like it much. Sigh...

However, I'm OK with where I am now. I have much to be grateful for.

JTG (Misalyn) said...

I feel like 50 years old today! Sometimes I'd like to be a child.....a carefree child, nothing to worry about and enjoy life to the fullest. I don't care much about the beauty anymore, I prefer to be simple yet elegant.

I really like this post Cloudia, sure this is a post to ponder...for life realization, that is.

Dinesh chandra said...

lovely post.

regrads

dinesh chandra

Bubblewench said...

I feel.. young... because I read this and it reminded me that we really never get old, we just age..

Cricket said...

Trust me, middle aged women are not invisible. It's just that most middle aged men have learned to be more discreet in their appreciation ;-)

There is nothing like a pretty woman passing by on the sidewalk and a lingering faint scent of soap or perfume. Much better than flowers, and there it is.

Congratulations on your potw.

the walking man said...

ageless

Charles Gramlich said...

I think about the young women thing sometimes in the sense that I interact with lots of young women as a teacher and yet I'm just not attracted to any of them. It's not the physical appearance, for many are pretty, but that their minds are so "young," and it just doesn't appeal to me.

Out on the prairie said...

I laugh at being a kid and my parents nearing 40, near death I thought. At 40 I ran a 10k just to say I could.

Anonymous said...

On my birthday I tell everyone I'm the same age as Jack Benny ... 39. That's what he told people on his 39th birthday and every birthday after that.

Daryl said...

Even on my worst days (and this year so far there have been more than I'd like) I never feel old ... some days I feel mature but that's as close to old as I'll let me feel! Great post!

DeniseinVA said...

You write such great posts Cloudia. I'm almost 61. It sounds old to younger people - I was one of them once ;) But I'm still me, just a little wiser I guess.

Tammie Lee said...

fun post on age and time passing.
congratulations on your potw~

Jeannie said...

For many years, I felt no different than when I was 14. Now, I am slightly older - drinking age at least - younger than my children though (my babies are 26). My 89 year old mother claims to be 21 on the inside. I am shocked sometimes when I catch sight of myself in the mirror unexpectedly. My God! I think - Who is that old person! How did this happen?

Akelamalu said...

My grannie used to say that God made your eyesight fail as you got older so that you couldn't see the wrinkles when you look in the mirror. It's true!LOL

Robin said...

Such wonderful quotes. I think the Emerson is my favorite, but I like the one about ripening too.

Today I feel just about my real age - no longer young, but not yet old. Ready and competent to handle my life.

-----------------------------------
My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

Cloudia said...

I'm just in TEARS!

Thanks SO much for those beautiful gifts you have left here-

I will cherish this forum for a long time, and look back on it when I need something GOOD!

Thanks Again - Mahalo Nui

Karen said...

Aloha Reiki Sister
at 20 I looked great and did not know it
at 30 I owned my first biz and employeed other women
at 40 I gave birth to my only child
at 50 I found REIKI and Essential
Oils,changing
mind*body*spirit
In September, I will be 60
I look forward to what the next decade brings

Hauoli la Hanau

Karen

Jenn Jilks said...

The only thing I regret about getting older is that my mother isn't here!
I love each moment. Learning something from each chapter, and something from all of the friends I meet.

I always feel better reading your words!
Cheers from Perth, stormy weather!

Cloudia said...

Mahalo means "thank YOU!"

Anonymous said...

Love the Bridget photos! My feet feel 80 (after working 14 hours) but my brain wants to be 20. The stuff between my feet and brain is really confused! If I could just wear flip-flops and shorts at work, it would be better! I don't want to be a normal old person. Hate makeup and don't wear lipstick. DrumMajor

Cloudia said...

glad you stopped by!

Anonymous said...

That wasn't Bardot pics was it, (my mind is getting older, eh?)
DrumMajor

Anonymous said...

NOW THAT I AM IN THE TWILIGHT OF MY LIFE I LOOK BACK AND MARVEL AT HOW FAST IT ALL GOES BY. CLOUDIA THANK YOU FOR BEING IN MY LIFE. YOU MADE ME SEE MYSELF SO OFTEN
LOVE
MOM

Cloudia said...

oh DM!! luv U