This week, the glossip magazines are paying tribute to the late Elizabeth Taylor with covers depicting her in her prime. But even into her latter years, her famous face was being used to sell product. "Elizabeth Taylor was not only a much-married Oscar-winning actor: she was also a star in the area of product-placement tie-ins between marketers and media companies," writes Neil Shoebridge in The Australian Financial Review, noting that Taylor made four TV appearances in 1996 tied into the promotion of her Black Pearls perfume for Elizabeth Arden.
Coco Chanel once said, "Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; life shapes the face you have at thirty; but at fifty, you get the face you deserve." What will our faces say about us? With all the celebration of Taylor's unique beauty, ability to shift scents off counters and the interest in her tumultuous personal life, as Boomers reach retirement age and marketers increasingly reach out to them (and their retirement funds), perhaps we should take time to contemplate which characteristics we aspire to in old age and how to achieve them with fewer regrets, physical ailments and worry lines in the process.
The Word for Today has posted a series on ageing over the past week (timely, as always). The newsletter notes that "old age is the reward for a life well-lived, a privilege earned, an accomplishment worth celebrating, and wisdom shared to benefit succeeding generations". Friday's installment read:
The secret of ageing well is staying young at heart, staying close to God, and staying fully engaged with life. The mirror isn't your problem; how you see yourself is. Have you noticed how 'young' some older people are, and how 'old' their peers seem? Seeking the elusive fountain of youth isn't the answer, nor is surrendering to time and fate... When you are comfortable with your age and stage of life, others will be too. Solomon points out that age decreases vigour, dims vision, slackens muscles, stiffens joints, whitens hair, and so on (Ecclesiastes 12:1-5). Vitamins, exercise and a good attitude help, but you must be realistic in order to handle ageing with dignity. Secondly, keep giving. 'Give generously, for your gifts will return to you later. Divide your gifts among many, for you do not know what risks lie ahead.' (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 NLT) Don't stop investing your energy and resources into God's Kingdom because you think it's time for the young folk to take over. If you do that loneliness and depression will set in, and illness and death often soon follow. When you shut the door, draw the curtains and isolate yourself, you're old at any age. But when you stay in the mainstream, give yourself to God and others, you'll stay young all your life!"
The secret of ageing well is staying young at heart, staying close to God, and staying fully engaged with life. The mirror isn't your problem; how you see yourself is. Have you noticed how 'young' some older people are, and how 'old' their peers seem? Seeking the elusive fountain of youth isn't the answer, nor is surrendering to time and fate... When you are comfortable with your age and stage of life, others will be too. Solomon points out that age decreases vigour, dims vision, slackens muscles, stiffens joints, whitens hair, and so on (Ecclesiastes 12:1-5). Vitamins, exercise and a good attitude help, but you must be realistic in order to handle ageing with dignity. Secondly, keep giving. 'Give generously, for your gifts will return to you later. Divide your gifts among many, for you do not know what risks lie ahead.' (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 NLT) Don't stop investing your energy and resources into God's Kingdom because you think it's time for the young folk to take over. If you do that loneliness and depression will set in, and illness and death often soon follow. When you shut the door, draw the curtains and isolate yourself, you're old at any age. But when you stay in the mainstream, give yourself to God and others, you'll stay young all your life!"
Girl With a Satchel
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