Hello,

I turned 69 today. It was interesting to read your post. I still work part time. I know what you mean about seeing stranger in mirror.lol. We have experienced lots of life. Hopefully, good health, good attitudes and humor will be with us for the rest of our days. Wishing you the best...take care
Daisy

Yep, it is hard getting old. I read your story and I totally agree with everything you said. I have tried to tell my son so many things that would have saved him many problems if he had just listened but he just thought I was crazy when I gave him advice. I am 61 now and it does get frustrating to see people making some of the same mistakes I made but when I try to give them advice, they just shrug it off.. I guess it is true that each of us has to experience life even through these same mistakes but it just seems that life would be so much easier if young people would listen to us "oldies". You would think that our kids would see the results of the mistakes we made and try to avoid those same mistakes.....but no, they just plod on doing the same dumb things. It's funny that I think back to my younger days when my poor mother was trying to tell me the same things but I did not listen to her either so round and round life goes, I guess.

I agree that aging is very difficult especailly when it seems to happen over night.I have just turned 66 years of age and the wrinkels,dropped chin and droopy boobs seem to have just appeared out of the blue leaving me to look in the mirror upon awakening and saying "good morning Mom"as that is who I now look like. It seems that the programs on aging focus on the 40 to 50 age groups most of all seem to think that they are over the hill while any personalities who are in the 60 plus group have spent mega dollars on cosmetic procedures and look younger than they did 40 yerars ago. In case I sound as though I am bitter and twisted please be assured that is not the case as I am blessed with good health along with a great family and wonderful friends the friends of whom are also looking quite wrinklie like me. If any one has any cure for the wrinkly old bods let me know and I will spread the word. My love to all PatsyB.

Yes, aging is difficult. I remember a lot of people giving me great advice, but I was too smart until I was almost 40 to take any of that good advice. Here I am 69 years old and I feel as though I haven't evolved as much as a lot of people. As a child, I was a good student, etc., but I didn't have the knowledge inside of myself to know what I wanted to do when I reached adulthood. I have talked to people who knew what path they wanted to take in life from an early age. It seems to me that I drifted most of my life emtionally. I still don't seem to know what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. I'm confused a lot. It's hard to explain what I mean.

For the past five years, I have felt so empty inside. I am participating in "The New Earth" classes, but so far I haven't had an "Aha" moment.

Your posting hit home with me. I have been very confused and at a loss my whole life until the last couple of years. ANE has been very helpful and I have had a lot of Aha moments mainly because I did a lot of "spiritual" reading in my twenties (When I was a hippie) so I recognized a lot of the words and finally knew what they were talking about. I hope you find help there too. I went through a divorce two years ago and although it was very painful I realized this was what God wanted and NOW I believe I am better off. Not financially. There is my problem. I do not have enough official work to get Social Security or Medicare. My husband was 16 years younger and so I have to wait until he retires to draw on his Social Security. I do not know what tomorrow brings but I'm joyful anyway because I'm convinced something good will happen for me. Thanks Oprah and Eckhart!

The best way I think to deal with aging is to accept it as a fact of life and consider the alternative. As for wrinkles, don`t get too close to the mirror and remember that no one looks as closely at you as you do. I have a seventy year old exterior but the heart of the girl I used to be, along with some earned wisdom, which tells me I had better make the best of whatever time I have left and make the best of what`s left of the "old bod" without surgical intervention. If you take care of the inner woman,have a good sense of humour,use lots of moisturizer etc. it all helps,but you have something that money can`t buy, good family and friends which I believe a lot of lonely old people would trade smooth skin and perky breasts for. Smile when you look in the mirror! a free face lift! Enjoy your blessings and take care!

Hello Idahigh! I wish I were 69 again! I think perhaps we, sixties, seventies, and up sometimes feel that we have not achieved as much as we would have liked but circumstances have played a large part in that. Don`t you think that we keep evolving even as we age? Like you I have felt I needed more in my life. My family are distant and I don`t have a large circle of friends. Because of recent circumstances I had to discontinue my volunteer work at the Community Hospital where I had established myself for seventeen years. That had brought a sense of satisfaction and connection that is now missing. I am planning on finding something less physically demanding soon. The New Earth I hope will help me rediscover a new purpose and for you also. I have been at that place where I question if my life has any meaning and I believe even in our latter years we can contribute, if only in our day to day contacts. Sometimes our spirits flag and for myself I find music is a great pick me up especially if you sing along! You say you were a good student. It is never too late to get back into learning. For me signing up for this course on line is an incentive to explore a new direction. I hope you will find that Aha! moment and begin to feel the emptiness recede. I am beginning to feel more optimistic since reading the New Earth and for me my first AH HA! moment was in recognizing the need to defeat the ego influence and practice living in the moment. I am looking forward to further enlightenment. You too? Em.

Thank you for your response to my post. I started Chapter Two in the "A New Earth." I might have had a small "Ahaa" moment when I read about COMPLAINERS. I probably have spent an inordiante amount of time complaining and not realizing what I was doing. So, there is a big EGO problem I can work on! I will keep reading the book and see what else it opens up for me.

Thank you for your answer to my post. My mother use to tell me that she "felt 20 inside but was 80 on the outside." I now know what she was talking about. I have seen several comments in posts regarding looking in the mirror--I have an old lady that lives with me that keeps jumping in front of the mirror while I'm trying to comb my hair. She has replaced all my clothes with garments that are too large. I wish she would move.

I have started Chapter Two in "A New Earth." I think if I can keep reading long enough the book will help me.

Yes, as my aged auntie would say ... AGING ISN'T FOR SISSIES." I am retired after 30 years in aviation. I have lots of hobbies and keep as busy as I need to. But I feel empty. I feel like I should be looking at a new career. I will be 66 in August and for some reason feel like I haven't lived. What is up with that? I am reading NEW EARTH .... maybe I can find myself and be more content. Would love to hear from all of you. Nancy

I do believe "old age ain't for sissies." I notice more and more that I am being treated differently. It is subtle but there nevertheless. Even my daughter (although we have been very close through the years) has been treating me differently. I don't know what to do about the empty feeling because I can't get rid of that feeling myself. I am through with Chapter Two of ANE, but am not getting as much out of it as I had hoped. Perhaps, as they say, I'm not ready. I will keep reading and see what develops. I'm not the kind of person that can run out and make new friends. I wonder if that is really what I need. I'm very uncertain about things these days.

I just signed on as a new member of our 60+ group and read throught the aging responses and I can really relate to so many of you! You gave me a "I'm not alone" moment in several of your statements. I love the mirrow comments as I certainly agree that when you look in the mirrow, the person you feel you still are, is no longer there! I have decided that I will never let anyone else take my picture again until I leave this life! It's too painful! I'm not trying to attract anyone, but it's still depressing! As a teacher and a mother of four, it's very true you can't give anyone advice, as they don't really want it, they just want a good listener. I found they had to find their own path and make their own mistakes. I just hoped that some of the lessons of life I passed on to them would make more sense as they got older and they would remember some of it. I still haven't had an aha! moment with the classes and in reading the book. I'm going back to rereading and doing the worksheets as we go along. I can relate a lot to the "whole concience" theory as I bellieve that in the beginning we were all one, and it was our choice to take form, (you see, we didn't listen then either!). The only true happiness is being one again, but only until we have learned life lessons which we keep forgetting because of the ego we develop in form. I think that empty feeling I feel and what some of you are feeling, even with family and friends or not, around you, is this seperateness. The purpose of TNE and in this life is to find our way back and then it will be no more. Hopefully, with all of us working and supporting each other with Oprah we can make some headway in this life.

I totally agree with you movaray. Instead of complaining about my age (63), I congratulate myself that I'm still here and in good health. I have my aches and pains but I choose to focus on what I can do...not what I can't. I take the time to put on some make-up and wear clothes that make me feel good whenever I go out...even just food shopping. I like to think I live "in the moment" but when I catch myself thinking about the past or the future in a negative way, I switch my thoughts to a nice memory of someone I care about. As we age, I think we begin to realize that although we probably have quite a few years of life ahead, we also have lived the bulk of the years given to us. I don't think it does any of us any good to dwell on that. Instead, I am grateful every day for the simple joy of living. I am kind to myself and try to find a way to be kind to people I meet. We all need a kind word or a pleasant smile. And like you said, that smile gives you an instant facelift. I am enjoying reading everyone's comments. Blessings to all.