Over the years, I’ve shared my thoughts on various issues through newspaper Opinion Editorials (OpEd). While many have focused on social concerns like homelessness and domestic violence, I’ve recently turned my attention to the topic of aging.

My first piece on aging in the Calgary Herald, “For Baby Boomers still working, you have nothing to fear but your own insecurities,” focused on being an older adult returning to the workforce. “Defying Age, Embracing Audacity: A Senior’s Manifesto,” my latest OpEd on aging, is aimed at celebrating the contributions of older adults and to challenge the notion that our value diminishes with time.

Being a senior myself, I refuse to believe that crossing an invisible age line signifies the end of our contributions. We have so much more to offer!

Recently, while being interviewed for a podcast about career transitions, I was surprised to hear a woman in her early 40s express feelings of irrelevance associated with her age. It struck me that perhaps we, as a society, are prematurely imposing limitations on ourselves.

Why do we create mountains out of aging, as if each passing year necessitates a decrease in self-worth? We lament the difficulties of getting older, reinforcing the notion that ‘aging is hard’. Perhaps, rather than focus on aging, we should focus on the challenges and joys inherent in being human, regardless of age.

The challenge is, the older we get, the more we seem to congregate in pools of anxiety about our accumulating years, shrinking the vast ocean of possibilities into a puddle of perceived limitations.

What if, instead, we chose to celebrate? To embrace our beauty, our flaws, our triumphs, and our tribulations? What if we reframed aging? Rather than it being a process of diminishment we choose to celebrate it as The Art of Becoming More Fully Human?

Imagine reaching the summit of life’s mountain not with a sack of regrets filling our arms, but with arms wide open, ready to cross over into the vast unknown with a heart full of wonder and gratitude, screaming as we take the leap, “Thank you Life! What a Ride!”

Let’s not let age define us. Let’s celebrate the journey of becoming.

Namaste