When it comes to being either the glass-is-half-full or the glass-is-half-empty kind of person, I’ve found there’s wisdom in taking the half-full view. Especially as I age. I am amazed at what I can still do, but see changes I’m not so crazy about. Then I stop and reflect on how much time I spent as a kid, a teenager, and a young adult hating the way I looked. There were pimples and freckles and skinny legs. I thought I was just plain ugly.
Those are years I cannot get back. The irony is, when I look at photographs of my younger self now, I can’t see why I was complaining.
Fast forward to today. I admit there are things I am not thrilled with. Like the jowls drooping from either side of my jaw. Like the hair that’s graying and thinning in corners where I never expected. Like the thick hairs that relentlessly pop out of my chin.
Still, I can appreciate this body. It is a miraculous design, still functioning despite years of neglect. Rather than agonize over varicose veins or cellulite, I admire the shape of my legs and the fact that they still get me where I want to go. When I am tempted to bemoan the bags growing under my eyes or the less than white smile, I remind myself that I still have my vision and my teeth intact.
Where I put my focus is what grows in my life. If I keep thinking about the bad, I can expect to have more of the same come into my life. And the more I turn my attention onto what is going well, the more I have to appreciate. At least that’s been my experience.
As the years go by, new challenges continue to arise. But I’m still here, I have wonderful friends, and I am able to contribute in small but meaningful ways. No matter how dark the clouds, there’s always something to celebrate. So I hold up my glass and give thanks that it is half full.