BE CAUTIOUS OF PERCEPTIONS

 BE CAUTIOUS OF PERCEPTIONS

Perceptions of beauty are shaped by society, culture and personal preferences. Beauty is definitely a timeless and elusive concept that means something different to almost everyone.

Yes, there are at least some shared social definitions of what beauty looks like, but, even that can change in a heartbeat. In this blog, I would like to talk about all ages, however, I am honing in on the 60+ age group. In this sector of society, the perception of beauty is more personal. Most in this age group do not describe themselves as attractive in the traditional sense. They  tend to offer a different perception of beauty. These women that were interviewed did consider themselves still beautiful in their 60's and their answers were always honest and they were confident. Here are some of their replies:

Yes, nature is changing my body and I accept it with grace...

What counts is to dress well and with style...

Beauty for me is having a positive attitude...

Looking through rose tinted glasses are the best...

There is so much more now because it is all about what is inside that matters...

There are so many interesting perceptions of beauty. Really it boils down to taking care of ourselves. That goes beyond bubble baths and spa days (but those are so very important). But what really matters is what is going on inside ourselves. If we struggle with negative thoughts or a lack of confidence, then cultivating a sense of self-love is where we need to begin. 

Treating ourselves with kindness and compassion, along with grace while setting and respecting our own healthy boundaries is what serves our own well-being. We need to be sure to build for our soul a beautiful home. Knowing that it is ok to be a little weird and quirky is important. Perfection is not reality.

It really boils down to deciding what you want and then do that. Go for that goal. As Judy Blume was quoted, "Each of us must confront our own fears, must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives."

YES! So true! Life is not a matter of milestones but of moments. Take the time to find each moment that brings us happiness and just relish in it. Our golden opportunities that we seek are within ourselves.

So just go ahead and have your own perceptions to define yourself. Others will perceive us as how we present ourselves. That is reality. So go with all of your grace and self-confidence that you can gather and you with have your perception of yourself inside your head of exactly the way you desire it to be. 

THIS IS THE BOTTOM LINE!

LIFE IS SHORT AND IT IS HERE TO BE LIVED!

FRESH BEGINNINGS

 FRESH BEGINNINGS

"Every moment is a fresh beginning."

T.S. Eliot

There is a wonderful feeling when we discover that when we begin fresh - all over again...magic happens. It is just one way to work at reinventing ourselves. We need to uncover our unique abilities. It gives all of us a sense of well-being. It is true that if we run from uncovering new abilities and experiences that one way or another life finds a way to make it happen for us. Sometimes that way takes the power away from us and is not always pleasant. 

I believe that many of us, myself included, feel at times that we must confront facing our "issues." That is really such harsh word. I am all about the vocabulary and instead of using the word confront, I heard that uncovering was used in many discussions. There is always time to find our own uniqueness. At times it is just too easy to blame our own responsibilities for not taking the time to find ourselves by uncovering our unique abilities. 

Once a person reaches a certain age, time seems to just fly by so there is no time like the present to get busy creating ourselves in the way that we would like to become. Uncovering our positive attributes to help make us better humans just feels joyful and positive. 

In reality, there is no such thing as standing still. Think of it as a flower. We are either growing or we are wilting. I don't know about you, but I am not fond of wilting flowers, therefore I do not want to find myself wilting away. I need to always feel like something new is calling me. It is a matter of me taking life by the reins and embracing whatever new may come my way. Otherwise, I have discovered that I feel STUCK! At one point I remember asking myself if this was all that there was. 

By gosh it is not. I have a lot to live for and to experience. There are many things on my bucket list and everyone's list is not the same. I can assure you that riding roller coasters, zip-lining, parachuting, or hiking are not on my list of what I need to experience. And that is ok, as long as I am willing to explore new dimensions of my life that might bring me joy and meaning. 

Hope tells me all of the reasons why I could do something and hope most definitely is not blind optimism. It is taking action and I know that it is important to remember that hope does not come with guarantees. Hopeful actions help to build my own self-confidence. Another way to look at it is to remember this quote from Morris West:  "If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you'll never enjoy the sunshine." Hang on to that HOPE.

Some things that I have decided to work on are listed below. The list is quite long, so for this blog I have only named a few. 

• Don't wait. Do it now. Whatever my "it" is, why wait?
• Stop feeling guilty when I put on my brakes to just slow down and take it easy. It is a delicious feeling to wake up with coffee or maybe an organic tea and just read. Then take a shower and get dressed much later in the morning. I stopped beating myself up because of doing this. Hey! I am retired and that means that I can do what I want when I want. 
• We have a family dinner for 5 most every night that there are no specific activities going on and we all 'power off' at the dinner table. Take time to listen to one another and carry on conversations.
• Besides working on getting better at getting my blog out on time and getting my novel ready for the editor, I have accomplished reading a book every two weeks. That was my goal and sometimes I even surpass that goal. 
• Continue writing in my journal. I have done this for over 25 years. I miss writing in my journal at the same time with my soulmate. But I now write in my journal about what my day was like, how my emotions were for that day, and even write as if I am talking with him. It truly is comforting to me. I also have a Gratitude Bowl. 

Using colorful Post-it notes, I write one thing specifically that I am grateful for each day. Yes, when it fills up, I must clean it out and start fresh. I have a special place where I keep the old papers. I just can't bear to throw them away. Reading them over again brings me great joy. 

Find what brings you happiness and start you own fresh beginnings...at your own pace. There is no right or wrong unless we allow ourselves to wilt. Feed the flower.