Have you ever heard of the 20-40-60 rule?
It goes something like this. In our 20s and 30s we spend a LOT of time and energy working about what ‘they’ think. Even to the extent that so many women in these years are carving up their faces and punishing their beautiful bodies in an attempt to meet some standard.
In our 40s and 50s (I call it the F-You 50s) we stop caring so much about what ‘they’ think. We start re-writing the rules and accepting the impermanence of a body that is changing, and aging. Our culture says we should do all the things. Botox, fillers, liposuction, buying, buying, buying. And at some point in these decades, we stop. And start living in our bodies with gratitude and grace.
Then…we hit 60. And we realize…THEY were never thinking about us at all. THEY were busy worrying about themselves. THEY were cutting, and carving, and starving, and buying too. All the wasted time and money and energy. All those years we could have been living in these beautiful bodies with gratitude, and grace.
I suppose it’s impossible for a 20 something to just hear this and live into the 60 year old version of themselves. I couldn’t do it at that time. But wow. I so wish the young people in my life could get a glimpse of how it feels to accept, appreciate, and love the body that is a vehicle for our soul. A vessel that allows us to live this amazing and complicated and delicious life.
Just for today…call in your future Self. Breathe deeply, and feel the skin that you inhabit. Thank your body for allowing you to move through life. Give yourself a hug. Drink some water and move a little.
Stop worrying about them. They are over there worrying about themselves.
Leave a Reply