The Miracle of Aging

As children, we couldn't wait to get older. We embraced every second, even rounding up to 7 1/2 years old instead of just 7. As we made our way past the 20s, however, there was a shift—we clung on to the lower numbers, pining away for that last 30 as we headed into our 40s, 50s or 60s. But growing older doesn't have to be a bad thing—and it's up to us to change our perception!

"I want you to begin to believe that 50 and beyond will literally be the most miraculous—and I do mean miracles occurring in your life," Oprah says.

In her book The Age of Miracles: Embracing the New Midlife, author and lecturer Marianne Williamson tells women how to shift the way they think about aging. "It's changing if we allow it to change," Marianne says.

Celebrities such as actress Susan Sarandon and singer Natalie Cole have chosen to live their lives to the fullest as they move into their 50s and beyond. Susan isn't giving in to midlife expectations—she plans to live it up even when she's an octogenarian! "I told my kids I'm going to get a tattoo when I'm 80," she says. "My daughter was so embarrassed. She said, 'Oh, that's the tackiest thing I've ever heard.' But you kind of think you want to mark the big ones somehow, you know?"

When Natalie turned 58, she decided to pay tribute to herself. "I put on a luncheon and I gave myself a cake, and on that cake it said, 'Happy birthday to my best friend, me,'" she says. "I thought that was the coolest thing that I could have done."