Beauty of a Woman Blogfest
Today’s post is a contribution to August McLaughlin’s Beauty of a Woman Blogfest. Be sure to
visit her always powerful blog on Friday, February 10th to read posts from all over the blogosphere.
About the only thing that comes to us without effort is old age.
— Gloria Pitzer
There is no denying that growing old is a mandatory process. More than anything we need to appreciate how fortunate we are to have the opportunity to achieve old age. Too many are robbed of this.
Recognizing that every day is a gift is an important part of keeping your beauty vibrant. Approaching life with a positive attitude and a desire to pay that forward is the best tonic.
Many of us resist aging as we attempt to soften wrinkles and hang on to traces of our physical beauty through the magic of make-up … and, let’s be honest, Spanx! Truly, I don’t have a problem with this as long as we realize our face or our body is not where our true beauty lies.
As a woman in her mid-sixties, I’m still dying my hair and *full disclosure here* I never go anywhere without mascara. Yup … it’s a fact. I do it for me and for no one else. I do it not because I think it makes me beautiful but because it makes me feel good. And that’s okay.
Realizing where our true beauty lies is a completely different process than applying cosmetics and it rests deep within our psyches. It is something to be encouraged from the day we are born. As mothers we need to help our children understand something of their inner beauty before they are exposed to the physical side. Words, deeds, demonstrations of loving guidance begin the process from infancy on. As a grandmother now, I feel the same desire to instill this sense of beauty in my grandchildren and the good news is it’s even easier to do at this stage of my life.
As I observe myself and my wonderful friends continuing on our journeys, welcoming new opportunities, nurturing our friendships and families, and giving of ourselves whenever we can , I am convinced that beauty simply grows and flourishes with every passing year.
| The beauty of a woman Is not determined by a man Her beauty can be found in her grace Not just the beauty of her face It can be found in her style It can also be found in her smile Her beauty is in her thoughts Not just what she has been taught It can also be found in her soul It cannot go untold Her beauty is within her She does not need to lure Anyone, because her presence It is her whole essence A woman’s beauty is in her heart Her beauty is her art Ms. JStar |
My feelings exactly!
So good!
First of all, I can’t believe you’re in your sixties! You look fahhhhbulous, darling.
Second, oh my. That sentence, ‘More than anything we need to appreciate how fortunate we are to have the opportunity to achieve old age.’ Wow. I don’t think most of us think about that, but it’s so true.
I embrace my age. I figure I’ve earned each wrinkle and while I might not love them all the time, I’m not to bothered by them. I got my first grey hair a few days before Christmas and I did a little happy dance while showing my husband. He was not amused. Must be because he had grey hair since his 20’s. Oh, well! I thought it was fabulous.
I love that poem.
I can’t believe I’m in my sixties either! I try to treat that information as a nasty rumour and carry on as I have done all my life. Being blessed with good health (knock on wood) is a bonus and I appreciate that! You made me laugh, as usual, with your comment about your first grey hair!
You are too fabulous and so very beautiful!
So beautifully spoken Patricia!
I love when you wrote “I am convinced that beauty simply grows and flourishes with every passing year.”
Absolutely!
Well my dear, If we don’t come at this aging business from a positive perspective it ain’t going to be much fun! And part of the fun I’m having now is having all of you beautiful bloggers in my life. Your beauty constantly shines through your words and attitude!
What a beautiful post. *pun intended* I love the picture of you and your grandkids — you look fahbulous just as Tameri said. The poem is wonderful too, I’m copying it for my daughter and friends. I’m so looking forward to visiting August’s blog tomorrow.
Thank you for being such an inspiration.
Kate, thanks for your kind words. August’s blog tomorrow will be amazing and it’s been fun to join in. As I said to Natalie, I’m loving the beauty that has been added to my life from each one of you wonderful bloggers.
What a lovely post, Patricia! You’re so right about wearing makeup and such being okay, as long as we don’t place our self worth in it. I wear mascara most everywhere, too. 😉 Can’t wait to share your post with others and wow—your book!
Thanks August. I can’t begin to express how impressive your blog is with all of the important issues you address so articulately. You are truly beautiful!
Thank you for this inspiring post. There is so much pressure to be meet societies’ standard of beauty. It’s wonderful to be yourself and feel good about. You look beautiful. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Kourtney! Life is beautiful is the mantra!
Wonderful post, Patricia. 🙂 It makes me think back to college and No-Make-up March (the women wanted to do something so as not to feel left out of Manly Month of March in which guys don’t shave), so the girls wouldn’t wear make-up for the whole month. It broke my heart to see how many girls broke down crying at not wearing their make-up because they felt it defined everything about their beauty. Whatever we do, how we dress or if we wear make-up should be to compliment what we already like about ourselves.
I can see how your college No-Make-up-March would be a challenge for many young women. As you get older and more certain of who and how you are, it’s not such an issue. Your last sentence sums it all up “beautifully”!
I’ll have to share this with my mother (also a beautiful Patricia). Beautiful!
I got my first grey hair after I gave birth to my son. Instead of being upset about it, I wear it like a badge of honor. Hopefully I can look at each wrinkle to come the same way. 🙂
Ah, thanks Amber. Did I tell you I loved the photo of you and your son? There’s nothing more beautiful than that!
Thanks for pursuing this topic. I want to share the inspiring video my women’s literature students made in response to the question “How can I feel good about myself when everyone else tells me to feel bad?” It was even selected for NOW’s Love Your Body Day website! Check out
Note to Self: This is What Beautiful Looks Like:
http://vimeo.com/22269053
Thanks! I’m going to watch your video right now.
I love that poem! It’s a shame that some women still allow others to define them. We need a gentle reminder sometimes. Thank you! 🙂
Thanks Sheryl! There are SO many great posts in this blogfest, I hope you have time to check out some more!
So, I see I’m not the only one in her sixties who has a little help from the hairdresser and the mascara. As they say, I don’t leave home without it. 🙂 Great post, loved it.
Thanks Prudence! LOL – trust me, I don’t go out the door without it!
Beautiful post! And that photo…priceless.
I love this blog fest of beauty. Just love it!
And I love that you wear mascara just for you. 🙂
Trust me, I don’t go out the door without it! There are some amazing posts in the blogfest, aren’t there? Great fun … and so meaningful.
Age is just a number, and you look wonderful! It’s true that every day IS a gift and its a travesty to waste it! I think you look so fabulous because you enjoy life and you have the right balance. Long may it continue!
Thanks Lynn, I sure hope so!
“Growing old is a mandatory process” – how true, Patricia. And instead of dreading I, I embrace it. It’s sometimes hard to look in the mirror and not see the twenty-some myself, but, instead, an older version of how I’ve used to be. But growing older brings something much more valuable than a smooth, wrinkle-free skin or a strong, youthful body. It brings maturity, experience, wisdom and memories. If we only learn to accept it as a great package, we are doing just fine with another and another birthday approaching. I know, I do 🙂
Fabulous post, sista!
Thanks Angela! Accept it and roll with it. We already know how beautiful you are!
I loved your post. The older I get I do appreciate the life I’ve lived and how much more life I have to take advantage of and live with abandon! Your spirit shines through your words!!
Live with abandon! Go for it! The most important thing is to look back with no regret or as little regret as possible! There’s always going to be something. Thanks for stopping by!
Beautiful and inspiring Patricia! Thank you sooo much for sharing this. I absolutely love the picture of you with the kids. Simply lovely.
Thanks Debra! It was great fun to participate, wasn’t it? I hope August got tons of hits today! Those are our two youngest grandchildren (out of 6). I call them The Adorables … and they are! They help to keep me young (somersaults yesterday – yikes!).
For me, eye liner’s a necessity, and I can take or leave mascara. Once, before a big event, I carefully applied foundation, blush, lipstick, gloss and eyeliner. I forgot the mascara. Afterwards, I whined to a friend that I’d been the only woman in the room without it. She shook her head, “You were the only woman from Texas in the room without it.” Probably true.
Thanks for this post, Patricia.
Haha! Hilarious! They say the eyes are the windows to the soul so I figure it should at least look like the windows are open! Thanks for stopping by!
You’re an inspiration, Patricia! So true, “our body is not where our true beauty lies.”
Love your tag! Life is too good not to enjoy and, when it sometimes isn’t, the challenge is to fix it!
Being in my sixties is unbelievable. I feel 40, look 50 and register 61. unbelievable. it’s so hard to connect chronology with feeling. thanks for a great post. I too use the dye thing – but I have since I was 16. it’s a game – what color will I be today? and I have become comfortable going out without make up. life is good.
I hear you!The numbers simply don’t matter. It’s what you do with the days!
I loved the poem. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by.
Great post. Age is such a funny thing. Once I passed the 50 year mark, the concept of relativity began to make a little sense.
Adorable grandchildren! How lucky they are to have you.
You are so right about the concept of relativity! 50 is a good year to simply begin to enjoy being around to celebrate another wonderful year of life and forget about the number. We’re so fortunate to keep having birthdays – party on!
Beautiful picture of you and your ‘adorables’, Patricia. I’m right there with you on all those thoughts about beauty. Make-up, hair color and style, lifts and tucks, and whatever else women do to themselves are all okay if it makes you feel good and pretty. As long as you know where the true beauty lives…in your heart and mind. After a certain age of maturity, most of us don’t mind going au natural now and then because we no longer put so much stock in how the world sees our outer selves.
Excellent post, my friend.
Please do accept my apology for being late to the party Patricia! I had family responsibilities that took me away from the excitement of THE day. But I am slowly making it through these beautiful posts and yours is not an exception. I love that poem. And I do relate to growing older. And I also would not walk out of the house without mascara either. LOL! Still working on the inward beauty though. That, as they call it, is a work in progress. 🙂
Karen, it’s so sweet that you are going through the posts. It does take a while and they are all so good, aren’t they? It’s so cool to hear everyone’s take on the subject. Keep working on that inner beauty, I know it’s there!