This article was posted by CrystalWind.ca.
Questions of Aging
Category: Journeys Written by Nimue Brown

Western culture frames aging as a bad thing, and one that we must tackle through the purchase and use of products. Buying stuff to look younger means using material we wouldn’t have needed if we’d been ok about aging in the first place. Make-up, hair dye, skin products, botox and I have no idea what else – but it all clearly has a carbon footprint, creates waste materials and reduces our confidence in ourselves.
It would be better for the planet if we could just get on with getting older and not feel like we have to disguise that totally natural process. If we respected age, then signs of aging would be no issue at all.
One of the issues here is that aging can reflect all sorts of things about our lives and personalities. How your skin ages will be different if you’ve spent a lot of time in the sun, or haven’t. Smoking affects how we age, so does diet. How much fat you carry affects how lines show in your face. Habitual expressions settle into our skin.
It would be better, I think, if we were all less worried about the fact that we age, and more concerned about how we age. The face of a person who has lived well, and richly, and who looks like their body has been lived in, should be something to enjoy and celebrate. The way our lives mark us should be something to take pride in, not feel reduced by. It’s good to have character and be distinctive, and there is far less to be said in favour of looking like a Ken or Barbie doll. We need to give ourselves permission to be real mammals, not plastic toys.
For some people of course, that aging process doesn’t go so well because of what appears in their faces. I know several people who I don’t much like, whose middle aged faces are starting to show those sneering, unkind expressions that are part of who they are. The reasons I don’t like them are, increasingly written all over them. There’s a certain amount of justice in this. The only way to avoid aging in this way is to not go round covered in unkind facial expressions.
Equally, people I know who tend towards kindness, laughter, compassion, and concern are clearly aging with faces that show these things. It doesn’t matter how old and wrinkly they get, their faces will be an expression of the kinds of people they are, and I will always find that lovely to look at.
For some of us, the lines in our faces will be caused by pain and grief, by loss and suffering. I suspect the face I’ll be taking into my latter years (assuming I get there) is going to look worried.
And for some of us, aging won’t be a thing. Accident, illness or violence will account for us before we have chance to get old. It’s worth remembering that getting to grow old is a blessing not everyone experiences. Most of us would prefer whatever state our faces wind up in, to no face at all. If our culture wasn’t so inclined to death-denial, we might be able to talk about this more, and view aging from a different perspective.
CrystalWind.ca is free to access and use.
Spirit Animal Totem Of The Day!
Crystal Of The Day!
Latest Articles
The Crystal Wind Oracle
Myth & Magic Card Deck!
Details Here!
NEW Expanded
Printed & Boxed!
Now with 58 cards!
CrystalWind.ca is free to use because of
donations from people like you.
Donate Now »
Who is Online Now
We have 1026 guests and no members online
Featured This Month
Sun in Gemini
Sun in Gemini May 21 through June 20 An Overview of Sun Sign Characteristic... Read more
Litha Sabbat - The Summer Solstice
Gardens are blooming, and summer is in full swing. Fire up the barbeque, turn ... Read more
The Meaning Of The Letter X On The Palms Of …
Its not Palmistry or any superstitious method coming from India. This is a v... Read more
Litha - The Midsummer Solstice
The Litha festival is one of the lesser Sabbats of the Witches annual calend... Read more
Rutilated Quartz
The Energy Buster Stone Rutilated Quartz is an illuminator for the soul, pr... Read more
Dowsing With Your Pendulum
Einstein's famous equation, E = MC2, equates energy and matter. All living... Read more
Gemini Mythology
The Story Behind the Gemini Zodiac Sign The origins of some constellation m... Read more
Birth Totem - Deer
Birth dates: May 21 - June 20 Birth Totem is: Deer Clan of: Butterfly (Air... Read more
Cornplanting Moon
Deer – Moss Agate – Yarrow – Green and White May 21 to June 20 The Cornpla... Read more
Summer Solstice: The Sacred Marriage of Heav…
Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year, and stands opposite the Wint... Read more
Comment: