My birthday is coming up and this year I’m more appreciative of it than ever before. In large part, this is due to social media and one story in particular. It is of a friend of a friend who recently lost her hard-fought battle with breast cancer. I never knew her, and probably would have never met her, but this story popped up in my news feed and really grabbed my attention – she was a year younger than myself. And right there it made me stop and think of how precious life is and how lucky I am to be seeing another birthday.
And so I started wondering, when did we stop seeing getting older as such a wonderful thing? Of course, we still celebrate birthdays, but now they are filled with jokes about being ‘over the hill’, ‘past prime’, and so on. Age used to be celebrated, treated with respect and revered. Now it is avoided at all cost – literally if you look at the billion dollar industry designated to fighting Father Time.
Well, Amintro is looking to change that. Age is simply a number and should never limit your abilities or your livelihood. Each birthday represents another year lived. Think about it, you’ve achieved 365 more days of memories, laughter, and love.
In this day and age, humans are living longer than they ever have. But we also have increased incidences of cancer, heart disease, and mental illnesses such as depression. We have all been impacted by these issues, all have known someone who has left this world far too soon.
Why then, as a society, do we look at aging as a bad thing? We push back against it at every turn when it should be embraced. While we have the ability to slow down the progression of wrinkles, fine lines, and laugh lines, that doesn’t mean we should shudder at them when they do appear. To me, they represent a life well lived, a life that has weathered any storm and made it through, a life that has loved ones in it to cause worry or concern. Each crease, line, age-spot has a story to share. We should stop trying to hide them and instead let them through and be proud.
By all means stay young, but stay young at heart. Do this by living your life, walking, staying active, eating well, and laughing often. Of course, these things are easier to do in the company of others. That is why we say join Amintro, make friends, and live life.
Written by: Christine Tompa
