Do you have the courage to age?

In a world that teaches you to prevent or cover up your aging, do you have the courage to stand out and be different? To show your true authentic self?

I'm not saying we don't look after ourselves and just surrender fully to death LOL. I have to make a valid effort to discipline my mind everyday, to make sacrifices for my well-being, to make the right choices for the health of my body and mind.

Having a daily self-care routine or sadhana to boost your life-force energy for the day, to stabilize your mind, to start your day with the right intentions and motivation, is crucial in this day and age.

Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns have regular teachings and practices on death called Death Meditation and the Bardo of the Moment of Death. These help one to:

1. Accept that we will die one day, at least our bodies will, but the stream of consciousness will continue, therefore death is just another transition to prepare for and to move through. A death of the old or this body and a rebirth or becoming of the new.

2. Prepare for the dying experience for ourselves and to support others, understanding the dissolution of the elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether) so we aren't so afraid of it when it happens. So we are prepared and understand the process.

3. Detach from the body to live with greater peace, acceptance and liberation.

It is exhausting to try and keep up with what society feeds us as beauty. I had to train my mind to see beauty in a new way. I stopped wearing makeup a very long time ago and stopped dying my hair a few years back. I'm in no way telling you one needs to do this. I can be extreme sometimes. Some might say I've given up or am lazy, others might be inspired. We all have our own inner journey and know what is right for us.

I like to observe my aging process now. It has freaked me out a lot for sure, I'm not saying I haven't been insecure on and off, but over time I train my mind to find deeper acceptance and this shifts my perception.

It took me sometime to not look in the mirror and only see a Grandma with my short grey hair, wrinkles and tea/coffee stained teeth LOL. Who doesn't love Grandmas though am I right?

Sometimes I still look in the mirror and see old.

But my new slogan is, wisdom is the new sexy and it comes in all shapes, sizes, ages & forms.

When you're doing your inner work, your perception keeps opening to see beauty in a new way. Not the way we are currently programmed to see it.

So if you're having a difficult time accepting your aging process, just remember:

1. Everyone is on their own unique path and has their own timing in life. Don't compare yourself to others or what society is trying to sell us is the latest trend.

2. True lasting beauty comes from within. Your wisdom, your compassion, your positive inner qualities. This is what continues. The body is temporary.

3. Everything comes down to perception. We can see through a distorted lens. You have to train your mind to see the world and yourself how you wish to see it. It's not easy, but it works with discipline and time.

4. It takes SO MUCH COURAGE to stand out and be different. To be your true authentic self. To go with your own flow against the larger forces or mainstream currents. Showing up each day with the intention to be yourself and to live life on your own terms is in an of itself, a WIN. Even if you fail over and over. Keep trying. Eventually you will catch your wave.

5. No one said BEING THE CHANGE was the easy path. But it is the path of growth, evolution, peace and ultimate freedom. Freedom from within.