Aging With Grace and Dignity

By Kathy D'Agati, Owner, Back to Basic Wellness
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“Doesn’t everything die at last and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”     Mary Oliver
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We run away from the topic of death. We live in fear of that day that will come to us all. We let the fear keep us from thinking about it at all. That can be a big mistake.

When we act as if the time we have here on earth is unlimited, we waste too many precious hours, days, months and years putting our dreams on hold for a someday that may never come.

I am in my twilight years. It makes my friends and loved ones uncomfortable when I say that, but pretending it isn’t so doesn’t make me any younger.

I would like to believe I still have many more years ahead. I work at keeping myself healthy and vital so I can be fully present for all of them. Yet, I find myself making different decisions now than I did even a few years ago. I am fully aware that there are more years behind me than in front of me.

It doesn’t make me sad when I am living my life to its fullest.

It serves to give me a different perspective on things. I choose more wisely than I once did. There is a richness to my life I was oblivious to before. I don’t take life’s treasures for granted any more.

I am gentle with myself, but I hold myself to a high standard. I want my presence here on this earth to be meaningful and remembered. That comes from what I can give to others.

I want to know that the things I do and the way I spend my days matter. I want to leave the world a little bit better than when I got here.

Sounds very altruistic, doesn’t it?

It’s not. I am not a selfless person. I have just been around long enough to know that there is a deep and lasting joy that comes from a life lived on purpose. Whatever I have given away has come back to me tenfold. I am very rich indeed. It fills me with gratitude.

I have never bought anything for myself that made me feel that way. My things are just that- things. My family, friends and community are what fill my heart and let me know today was a really good day.

My advice to you?

Stay awake and aware. You will be amazed at what is right in front of you when you open your heart and mind to all the gifts life bestows upon you daily.

It’s living fully in those moments that make you eternal.

Kathy is a Certified Holistic Health Coach and the owner of Back to Basic Wellness. She can be reached at [email protected]