What an awesome time to be Fabulous after 50! We are stepping over the threshold of the new millennium. The explosion of knowledge and communication will thrust us into new beginnings, adventures, and ways of thinking and living.

Age doesn’t dull one’s luster because the shine comes from within! How does one experience the fountain of youth?

I will stay young at heart! I will keep growing and going. I recently downsized from a large family home to a luxury townhouse on the golf course—the first ever house I picked out for myself and bought. It is positively fabulous and perfect for my needs. I have never lived in a two-story home. I chose to put my bedroom upstairs to force myself to climb the stairs several times a day and to capture the gorgeous view from a higher perch. The sunlight that fills my bedroom each morning fills my soul and gives me a shine from inside all day. My motto is “Keep moving. Exercise is the golden egg of aging.”

On my journey beyond youth, I will stay young at heart by living the moment, laughing, and embracing a positive attitude. My goal is to be in the moments of my life, to experience, enjoy, and savor the magic as the minutes tick by. Each day is a precious jewel. If I have the courage to make each day a pearl, at the end of my life I will have a string of pearls.

Laughter has so many healthy benefits for our body, soul, and spirit, so why do we stay stressed so often? Laughter is a stress buster!
Returning home from a speaking engagement, I sat at the airport, reading the Wall Street Journal, sipping a cup of coffee, enjoying my time alone—my space—waiting for my flight. Usually a warm, outgoing, approachable person, today I was enjoying the peace and quiet. Hiding behind the newspaper, I did not make eye contact with anyone.

A white cane tapped my shoe. A fit, fabulous gentleman sat in the seat next to me. I kept reading, hoping he did not desire to talk; however, travel was an adventure for him, and he wanted to talk.

With perfect diction, he asked, “Where is your destination?”

“Birmingham, Alabama,” I responded with a smile.

“Hey, that’s where I’m planning to attend a reunion with my buddies who fought with me in Vietnam.”

Bill and I talked nonstop for 30 minutes, until it was time to board the plane. I learned that Bill had been in the Special Forces and was blinded in the war. His beautiful wife became too ill to travel with him on this trip. With Bill’s positive attitude and his will to spend time with his Special Forces buddies he made the decision to travel alone.

“Who will help you on the plane, pick up your luggage once we arrive in Birmingham, and get you to your hotel?” I asked.

“Someone will help me! God hasn’t failed me yet.”

Bill shared with me that his faith, family, and friends were responsible for his positive attitude after he lost his sight. Of course, I helped him get to his destination. His positive attitude was the fire that lit our flame of friendship.

My personal relationship with God will empower me to experience the beauty of being an ageless person. God is the life preserver that will keep us from sinking into the sea of aging.

Knowing God through a daily intimate quiet time propels my life into universal and eternal living. It gives me wings to fly through my maturing life and live well. How do we know God? Draw close to him, and he will be near you! Where there is God, there is liberty. Freedom gives wings to fly to our highest dreams! Powered by our dreams, life after 50 has the possibility of being filled with zeal.

I will choose to live fully after 50, dreaming new dreams and investing my energies in others. The words “I have a dream,” spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King, burst into our minds like a firecracker on the fourth of July. After his death his wife, Coretta Scott King, continued his legacy of nonviolent social change in the United States. Until her death on January 31, 2006, she devoted her aging life to helping others. She experienced ageless living.

Investing in relationships for eternity gives life depth, breadth, and a reason for living well. The media coverage of President and Laura Bush has given me a new excitement for the possibility of relationships that work. Relationships with a marriage partner, family, friends, coworkers, and soul mates gives life a spicy flavor! Relationships dull the pain of loneliness.

Excellent nutrition energizes me to live agelessly! It is a choice. Eating small meals of a balanced daily diet is the fuel that runs this wonderful machine in which we live. Energy is a hot commodity for fabulous people over 50. Energy yells youth! Energy produces success! Energy is empowering!

With proper exercise, I will re-kindle and re-spark my fire for life. Admiring the star-studded people on the red carpet at the Oscar awards, I observed the results of hard work, exercise, and talent. The reward for exercise is being sexy, savvy, and sassy at any age.

I will open the jaws of menopause with help from my doctor, great habits, and great attitude. Menopause is not a disease—it is a right of passage, a time of renewal and change, and a great time to make life a “bowl of cherries.”

To be female, fabulous, and 50, I will make the most of my best. I like who I have become. I am president of my own life. I feel a spirit of aliveness within myself! I say yes to life.

I will dance with anticipation every day of my life as I move toward eternity and my final home! The fountain of youth is overflowing with the sweet fragrance of success for many of the people living the second half of life. It is the grand finale.

** This article is one of 101 great articles that were published in 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life. To get complete details on “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life”, visit http://www.selfgrowth.com/greatways.html

Author's Bio: 

Shirley W. Mitchell of Alabama is a mother of three and a grandmother of eight. Her mission is to promote positive aging and health. She is the author of five books and a coauthor of three books, a columnist for the “Fabulous after Fifty” weekly newspaper column in the Sand Mountain Reporter and for the syndicated on-line column “RE-FIRE not RETIRE,” a national speaker, and hostess of the weekly Internet radio show “Aging Outside the Box—Fabulous Women Over 50” on the VoiceAmerica Health and Wellness Channel. Represented by Lighthouse Coastal Literary ((912) 443–9064 orAgent@lighthousecoastalliterary.com). Visit her Web site at http://www.agingoutsidethebox.net.