Go Slowwww
Lately I’ve been sitting and imagining 80-year-old me.
What is she like? Who do I want her to be?
For me… she still slips on her boots most mornings and goes out for a walk before the sun is too high in the sky. She cooks simple, nourishing food, the kitchen filling with the smells of spices and herbs. She drinks warm turmeric milk before bed and sleeps like a baby, dreaming the most amazing dreams. She’s taken good care of her skin over the years, using oils and Ayurvedic remedies, and her skin is glowing and soft. Her eyes sparkle with a little bit of mischief, or a tiny joke that her closest people get the most. She is surrounded by love—people she adores and sees often. They help each other, they laugh, they cry together—a true circle. Her home is cozy, a little worn-in and beautiful, full of art. She still makes things, doing art because it just makes her happy. And through the years, she’s become wise, and shares her wisdom with those who want it.
That’s what I envision for me.
What about you—who do you want to grow up to be?
Whatever your answer is, the thing I want to share is this:
We don’t become those magical people of 80 years at age 79.
No, it’s cultivated over time. By our habits, our practices, our energies.
We become those magical people very, very slowly.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this because I’m learning so much about women and aging right now. I’ve finished my latest illustration project, and now my attention is completely on my Ayurvedic studies. The “Special Project” I’ve chosen is to study women and aging in depth. Oh my goodness, it’s fascinating!
I’ll share more about that later, but for now I want to say this: Ayurveda takes the long view.
It’s actually quite beautiful.
Yes, we address what hurts today and manage the symptoms we may have. But ultimately, we rejuvenate… and cultivate… the people we want to become.
And I know what you’re thinking… does that mean we have to spend the next few decades constantly working on ourselves?! Goodness no. That would suck!
It just means that we stay aware. That as much as we can—with EASE and JOY!—we make choices that align with our future selves.
It means that some days you’ll take great care of yourself—yay you! And other days you’ll find yourself eating cheese and crackers for dinner and calling it a day—hey, it happens.
We don’t judge that. It’s all okay. Because we’re looking at the long game.
We go slow. We gently move in the right direction.
So while I’ve been imagining all this, here’s what I’ve been asking myself (and I welcome you to do it with me!):
What am I doing today that nudges me toward the amazing, strong, magical 80-year-old I want to be?
And I celebrate what I AM ALREADY doing!
And I’m also noticing what else I’d like to begin. Not as a big new project. And not because I’m not doing enough as is. But because I want to continue to gently shift toward the life I envision years from now.
We don’t have to become that amazing person overnight.
We can take our time.
P.S. If you’d like some help figuring out the little things you can do now to care for your future self, that’s exactly the kind of thing I LOVE helping people with through Ayurveda. Get in touch. :)