How to Flourish Even When You’re Getting Old
In the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls, a show about the lives of four older women who live together in Miami, there’s one episode called “Who’s face is this, anyway?” that has some interesting dialogue about growing old and losing your charms. Blanche Devereaux, the character that defines herself by her sex appeal and looks faces something of a crisis after she attends a reunion with her sorority sisters. It turns out the years haven’t been kind to Blanche, or at least she doesn’t seem to think so. Her sorority sisters all got some work done and rendered Blanche unremarkable. She didn’t take this well as she was used to being the center of attention. At a plastic surgeon’s office where she intends to have her eyes, nose, and breasts enhanced, Blanche’s doctor tells her that while there are many good reasons to have that kind of work done, there are also a lot of bad ones. In response, Blanche, in a rare moment of vulnerability, says that all her life she’s relied on her beauty, but now that beauty seems to be fading and she’s scared because she’s never had to do without it. While not everyone can relate to Blanche’s struggle with her fragile beauty, as one gets older, some things get lost along the way – independence, good health, beauty, mental acuity, friends and other loved ones who pass away, and so much more. As one gets older, there are things that one depended on that one begins to lose, and that can be scary. Getting older entails a certain amount of loss, but it’s possible to flourish as you get older. Our culture shies away from old age, urging us to do everything we can to keep it at bay, whether through medical interventions such [...]
