Breaking News! Every single day, we’re all getting a little older.

I know, right? It’s pretty mind-blowing when you stop and think about it.

But here’s the thing: there’s this moment, this elusive line we cross, where suddenly it feels like the world is tapping us on the shoulder and saying, “Hey, guess what? You’re not just aging gracefully anymore. You’re officially ‘old’.”

Especially in our western society, where youth is worshipped and older folks often get sidelined, ignored in mainstream media, and sort of pushed to the sidelines of our conversations.

This past weekend, Third Action Film Festival held their 2024 Film Festival — a festival focused on shifting the narrative around aging to more age postive through sharing film and programs that tell the stories of older adults and the remarkable, everyday lives they lead. For a film or documentary to be eligible for the festival, the leading character must be over 65.

Those types of films and stories are hard to find, not because there aren’t a lot of older actors and people capable of starring in the films and documentaries. Nope. It’s because of a thing called ‘symbolic annihilation’. That’s where a certain group or cohort (like older people) are under-represented or simply not portrayed in mass media, including film, advertising and the internet.

As humans, when we don’t see ourselves represented in the media we consume, we begin to feel invisible, like our stories don’t matter, like we don’t matter. It can lead to feelings of isolation, aloneness, confusion and despair. Who am I if no one else sees me and I can’t see myself in what everyone else is seeing? Do I matter?

As an age and aging activist, I believe we all matter. We all make a difference, and as Mother Theresa suggests, this ocean of life in which we are all collectively swimming would be so much less without each of our drops.

Fact is, one day, each of our drops will evaporate from this ocean of life. It is part of the circle of life. Let’s not fade any drops out before their time. Let’s hold each drop as precious, every life as important to the whole of life.

So instead of fading into old age, let’s fade out that invisible line between getting older, and being ‘old’. Let’s start celebrating older age as a gift, a privilege, an amazing state of being present in this world.

‘Cause, the fact is, regardless of how old I am, my life will never be old to me.

What about you? What do you do to keep your life from becomng old news? Are you aging with passion, purpose, pizzazz?

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If you’re craving some tips on how to age with passion, purpose, and pizzazz, I’ve got a few spots left for my Radiant Bold Aging masterclass tomorrow. Check it out and join the party! Find out more HERE

Oh, and full disclosure: I didn’t make it to the festival this year. Life got busy, and I needed to hit the pause button for some much-needed self-care. But from what I’ve heard, it was one heck of an event. And you know what? I’m not even feeling the FOMO, because I had the most wonderful, rejuvenating weekend which culminated with dinner with friends and family. Sometimes, that’s just what the soul needs.