I admit it - I've always been a bit vain. Appearance has always been important to me - not only mine, but I often judged others by how they looked, too. As I've aged I have come to the realization that if you can't accept imperfection, life can be pretty miserable.

For me it started with glasses - depending on them more and more each year...then the wrinkles, which seem to get a bit deeper and show up in places that I didn't even know they could! Then things begin shifting in a more southerly directions...and the brain, well let's just say all of that vast wealth of information stored in there has a way of getting lost, or at best seems to take longer to find than it used to.

But here's the good part - you come to know that your body is only a shell, a holder of your spirit - which fortunately doesn't seem to age, but gets wiser, stronger and more full of life with each passing year. I see these physical imperfections for what they are - a right of passage and the natural course of life. Aging has blessed me with the ability to be a more compassionate, caring and accepting being...not only of myself, but of others as well. I no longer judge outward appearances, but pay attention to what is on the inside.

I remember years ago there was a popular slogan, "you're not getting older, you're getting better". I used to laugh because I thought "old" people had to tell themselves that to feel better...I now laugh because I know that it is true - getting older IS getting better!!
~ Andrea :-)