Like many women my age, or maybe like many women of all ages, I’ve fallen victim to the myth that I can put off “looking older” by slathering my face and body with some chemical and/or natural concoction. I spent part of my day today cleaning the bathroom, which involved some minor purging of said concoctions that I no longer use or have expired or I didn’t like for one reason or another.  Creams and lotions; anti-wrinkle, anti-aging, anti-blemish; toning, firming, moisturizing…some do just one of these things, some do nearly all of them, and not one of them will stop the fact that I am aging. All the face cream in the world isn’t going to stop the fact that I am getting older.

It’s getting older or death, right? I mean, these are the only choices; I either live, and age as a part of living, or I die.

At some point my body is likely going to stop being able to do the things it used to do. But even if I stay physically active and healthy and live to be 80, I’m pretty sure I’m not going to look 40. Sure, there are interventions that can “help” keep me “looking younger”. Right. I’ll still have an 80 year old body with a 50 year old face. Do I want that? Well, if I have to chose a way to get old, I would take a healthy, active body and healthy, active mind over just looking younger.

So how do you keep your body and mind healthy and active? One of the hardest things for me is putting myself as a priority. I have an active gym membership, but I haven’t gone in 7 months. Do I need a gym to stay healthy and active? No, but it wouldn’t hurt, especially since I have a desk job. Keeping my body moving will be key as I confront the days, weeks and months ahead. I’ll come back to this topic in a month or so, to see what commitments I’ve made to myself to keep healthy and active.