Wag More

As a child, I tended to play with kids who were just a smidge older than I was, and I also remember stating that the high schoolers might as well have been 30 and the 30-year-olds might as well have been dead.

And now, as a new decade for me heads this way, I wonder how many of us are content with the age we are right now. In a culture that values youth to the point of fanatical, my guess would be not too many. Most look in the mirror and see the tired eyes, the lines on faces, the looseness of bodies, the weariness of souls. It can build up over time. To the point that even the healthiest minds can succumb to the constant beating of the drum of time and society.

But what if we started listening to our four-legged friends – for me I’m thinking of all the dogs who have been in my home throughout my life. I’ve always only had one at a time, but my gosh, they never gave a second thought as to their age. They run if they want and as much as their body allows. They eat what they want and as much as their human allows. They play what they want until something else deserves more of their attention. They don’t have the limiting belief around the concept of ‘age.’

Reduce the urge to age gracefully – whatever the heck that means. Give yourself permission to age as messily as you would like. And if you find yourself becoming nostalgic for the ‘good ol’ days,’ remember that nostalgia is really only helpful when it uplifts.

And with that, we each have our own trajectories. We each have our own truths. Age however it works best for you. Take inspiration from the pups – they simply are. They move and age in the world as it comes to them. Bark less. Wag more. As the bumper sticker reads.