Aging Gracefully
by Louise L. Hay
Editors Note: While
this article was originally written for a book entitled Menopause Made
Easy, the article applies to men as well. You can replace the word "women" with the word "men" or
"people" as you read.
The ways in which we currently
age have been programmed into us, and we have accepted this idea as a reality.
As a society, with some exceptions, we have come to believe that we all will get
old, sick, senile, frail, and die -- in that order. This does not have to be the
truth for us any longer.
As we refuse to accept these old
fears and beliefs, this can become a time for us to begin to reverse the
negative parts of the aging process. The current crop of baby boomers is not
going to sit back and age like their parents did. We will live longer, and if we
take charge of our health, we will live exciting, productive lives.
I believe that the second half
of our lives can be even more wonderful than the first half -- we can definitely
make these years exciting ones. If we want to age successfully, then we must
make a conscious choice to do so. Healthy aging is learning how to keep the life
force strong within us. We can do this with self-love, and with good food and
exercise.
Staying healthy into our later
years is an act of loving ourselves. We can make deliberate choices to care for
who we are. We can study books on nutrition in order to learn to fuel our bodies
with the most nutritious foods possible. I don't like to talk about diet;
rather, I choose to talk about food choices. We can explore some form of
exercise to keep our bones strong and our bodies flexible. We can read books, or
listen to tapes, or take classes that teach us how to use our minds. We can
learn how to think in ways that support a peaceful, loving, healthy life.
Whenever I see older women who
are frail, ill, and incapacitated, I know I am often looking at a lifetime of
inadequate nutrition, lack of exercise, and an accumulation of years of negative
thoughts and beliefs. So many of the problems we face in our later years come
from the lifestyle choices we made when we were younger.
We women need to learn how to
take care of our magnificent bodies so that we can sail into our older years in
perfect physical shape. I had a physical recently, and the doctor told me I was
in "amazingly good physical condition for someone my age". It
disturbed me that he expected a woman of 72 to be in poor health.
Living a Healthful Life
Fast food, and processed
packaged foods do not support life. No matter how pretty and mouth-watering the
picture on the package, there is no life in these foods. Our bodies need fresh,
living foods, such as fresh fruits, salads, vegetables, grains; and small
amounts of meats, poultry, and fish. These are the foods that will sustain our
bodies well into old age.
You may not want to hear this,
but Soul Food is also "heart attack food". It may please the
tastebuds, but eaten consistently over a lifetime, it contributes to all sorts
of health problems.
As teenagers, we can get away
with a lot of poor food choices. We may not feel our best, but at least we're
not sick. However, when we reach our mid-40s, our past food history begins to
catch up with us. This is when so many women find that their bodies are not
working well, and the diseases start to manifest.
Don't listen to the dairy or
meat industries. They don't care about your health; they're only interested in
profits. Eating lots of red meat and dairy products are not good for women's
bodies. Caffeine and sugar are two other culprits that contribute to many of the
problems that women face with their health.
Ask yourself, "How do I
want to age?" Observe women who are aging miserably, and notice those who
are aging magnificently. What do these two groups do differently? Are you
willing to do what it takes to be healthy, happy, and fulfilled in your later
years?
Almost all the research done on
older people has been by the pharmaceutical industry on disease and what is
"wrong" with us and what drugs we require. There is a need to do
in-depth studies on older women who are healthy, happy, fulfilled, and enjoying
their lives. The more we study what is "right" with older women, the
more we will know how we can all accomplish healthy living.
How to Accept and Love
Our Bodies
It is crucial to our well-being
to constantly love and appreciate ourselves. Loving our bodies is important at
any stage of our lives, but it is absolutely vital as we grow older. Anger is
not healing. If we put anger into any part of our bodies, especially a part that
is sick, it only delays the healing process. If there is some part of your body
that you are not happy with, then take a month or so and put love into that area
on a daily basis. Tell your body that you love it: "I love you, body! I
really, really love you."
What if part of your body is
sagging or wrinkled? This part has been with you for a lifetime, and it is doing
the best it can with the health choices you have made. Hating your body will not
make it young and beautiful. Love your body, and it will love you back. Your
hips and breasts and your face and your skin with be with you for the rest of
your life. Take care of your body, and love every bit of it -- from the top of
your head down to the tips of your toes -- and all the organs in between. When
you love yourself, others love you, too, and you will be irresistibly attractive
all your life.
I am a great believer in the
philosophy that our thoughts and our words shape our experiences. So we can
quite unknowingly, just by thinking, contribute to our health or to our
diseases. Dr. Candace Pert discovered "neuropeptides". These are the
chemical messengers in our brain that travel to every part of our body, touching
every cell and depositing a bit of that chemical in it. They do this each time
we think a thought or speak a word.
If our thoughts are fearful,
angry, or in any way negative, then the chemicals these messengers deposit
"depress" our immune systems. If our thoughts are loving, optimistic,
and positive, then the different chemicals these messengers, or neuropeptides,
deposit will "enhance" our immune systems.
So, moment by moment, we are
consciously or unconsciously choosing healthy thoughts or unhealthy thoughts.
Poisonous thoughts poison our bodies. We cannot allow ourselves to indulge in
negative thinking. It is making us sick and killing us.
In addition to making sound
choices for ourselves nutritionally and medically, we need to take charge of our
thinking. Negative thinking produces negative experiences. If we want to change
our lives for the better, we must learn to think thoughts that support us and
help improve the quality of our lives. When we love and appreciate who we are,
we naturally take better care of ourselves.
This
article was
excerpted with permission from:
 Menopause Made Easy
by Carolle Jean-Murat, M.D.
This article by Louise L. Hay is taken
from a chapter called Healthy Aging, in the book, Menopause Made Easy. Published
by Hay House Inc. ©1999. www.hayhouse.com.
Info/order this book.
Books by Louise L. Hay
About The
Author
Louise L. Hay is a metaphysical teacher
and bestselling author of
numerous books including "Heal
Your Body", "Empowering
Women" and
Gratitude: A Way of Life. Her works have been translated into
over 20 different
languages in more than 30 countries. She is the founder of Hay House
Inc. Visit Louise's website at
www.louisehay.com and Hay House at
www.hayhouse.com.
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