Age: It's all in the mind

Let's face it, whether we like it or not, we all age. Our bodies change. The bits we once showed off suddenly begin to sag, lines appear where we never thought possible, and, as for our sexual prowess? Pah! We can forget about going at it all night (or more than once a week for that matter).

Reality slowly sets in. Libidos wane, confidence ceases to ooze and pheromones go haywire at the very glimpse of anyone giving us the eye, in desperate hope that we still have what it takes.
Yet despite all the rampant enthusiasm over the ageing process, it seems we live in a society were it's de rigeur to vehemently deny we're getting older at all. Instead many enlist help from all sorts of jabs, jobs, lifts, nips, tucks and even toy boys (cougar hunters watch out).

"Ageing is a fact of life! And we have to deal with the issues that it brings up, whether we're in relationships or not ..."

This got me wondering: When it comes to relationships, do we become more picky with age or more prone to settle? Do we have more baggage the older we get? And what do people think about others who enlist high-fangled anti-ageing services to shift the way they look? (Surely Jennifer Lopez can't look like a teenager naturally at 37? And would someone tell Sylvester Stallone that it's OK to look old - he's 60 for goodness sake!)

One such fictional femme who certainly didn't let the time lapse thwart her sexual prowess was the 80-something Maude (of Harold and Maude fame), who, instead of being obsessed with ageing, became fixated on living her life the fullest she could. Hence she managed successfully to woo a 20-something chap and hold a romantic relationship that had no barriers, prejudices, expectations or silly dating games. (OK, it's a little unnerving, but you get the point.)

"I've met quite a few guys in their mid-to-late-30s who say they want to settle down, because they look around and suddenly realize that most of their mates have married and are starting to have families, and they also realize that they're not that young any more and better get onto it if they want to do the family thing."

And as for disguising your age in the hope of not having to deal with any of the responsibilities that come with it? "Shallow and foolish," is the view of many.
To me, looking and being healthy through eating, exercise and living well is the key to ageing well naturally. And as Mark Twain once said, "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

Unless of course, you're cheese ...