Negativity, prejudice and fear about aging is a process that inevitably leads to self-loathing and despair. One of the hardest things one might be expected to deal with in life is invisibility, not being noticed or valued as a human being. Suddenly becoming invisible due to aging is a particularly cruel aspect of life. People often become reclusive because they don’t want to be seen as elderly and so they render themselves invisible. They stop circulating because they don’t think they’ll be noticed, many choose to stay at home out of fear of becoming irrelevant and being rejected or ridiculed. Before you can expect others to think of you as something more than just your age, you have to think of yourself as something more than just your age. It takes some guts to reinvent yourself in your midlife and again as you begin to age. Developing a wholesome attitude towards ageing is not only about survival but more about thriving. Successful ageing means continuing to do what you love to do – and never using your age as the only reason for not doing it. It is also about paying more attention to spiritual issues. I talk to Tobie Cronje to get his wisdom about fearless aging.
