Aging Gracefully

Does happiness decrease with age? According to a Gallup poll conducted in May 2010 it apparently does. The US study of 340,000 people claims that after leaving puberty at the age of 18 (for some of us), happiness steadily declines until we're in our early 50s. Then it does a complete 180 degree on us and our happy hormones climbs back up. From 50 onwards, most things becomes wonderful for everyone.

According to the study, 85 year olds are even more satisfied with themselves than they were at 18. This is very good news for those of us who wants to age gracefully (maybe sneaking in a couple of botox here and there). Scientists aren't certain what causes this turn around in our 50s. Gender, marital status, current events, employment or parenthood didn't make a significant difference to our happiness level.

But here's an idea: maybe we're just so bloody exhausted after 50 years of work and worrying! Building a career, raising a family, paying a mortgage, babysitting a partner, worrying about the wrinkles and the fact that your once perky breasts now rests somewhere near your hips, making dinner every night for the last 30+ years, doing infinite loads of laundry, putting on weight, loosing weight, putting it on again, entertaining people you don't like - it leaves you dog-tired! So by the time you've reached 50, you say BLEEP IT! It's my time, I'm still here. I like who I am - wrinkles, weight and all.

The Invitation

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayal or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty, even when it's not pretty, everyday, and if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

-Oriah Mountain Dreamer-

Nirvana

Tonight, I watched James Cameron's Avatar. Despite it being the second time I viewed it, it's one of those movies where you anticipate its content. From a technical point (if I had any expertise in this area), the graphics were stunning!!

The story goes deeper than love across cultures and adventure. It touches on spirituality and consciousness, the awareness of who and where you are in the universe. That got me thinking; definitely need for some concern there.

Now, I'm unequivocally not religious. Like most dysfunctional families (I'm sure I'll find statistics somewhere on the net proving this point), I have diabolically religious parents, who on a daily basis swears that my happiness is directly proportional to praying multiple times a day to an angry God who needs us frightful beings subdued in order to feel good. I'm just not buying that, sorry. Neither am I interested in the New Age Tom Cruise BS. By the way, Tom Cruise cannot act. I don't know why people keep insisting that he speaks in movies. He should do what he does best: smile and look pretty.

Though I respect you for your beliefs, they just aren't mine, and I wish people would stop trying to 'save my damned soul'. It may be damned for a reason.

What I am particularly interested in is the concept of using our minds and attitude to change our destiny, to connect to the universe, God, Allah, Shiva, energy, or whatever you wish to call it, and more importantly to move physical mass. Our thoughts interacting with the physical world to effect change all the way down to the atomic level. Yes, I know, this sounds like an ad for 'The Secret'; though I am 'visualizing' a nice cold mango and lime juice right now. I'm not speaking about mainstream religion here. I'm speaking about spirituality. Personally defined, religion offers a system of beliefs (and conformity) while spirituality offers trust in yourself, giving you the power to change your destiny, a belief that God is within you and not sitting on a throne, reigning down his Godly might.

Historically, many spiritual leaders have spoken about reaching a higher level of consciousness, your 'Nirvana', such as Buddha, Gandhi, Tao and even scientists such as Newton and Einstein. Many ancient cultures and indigenous people, also held the belief that we, humans, had Godlike powers, and more importantly, our interconnectedness to the Universe, Earth, each other, is what makes us whole.

Sadly, I must concede that I have not attained an elevated consciousness as yet. I'm working on it and I'm sure it'll take years of trail and error to get there, and then more years of trail and error. It's a process, not a race.

As Avatar depicts, we are born twice, once in our natural state, and for those of us who cannot morph into little blue Smurfs, maybe the second one represents the birth of a deeper consciousness, our Nirvana.

2010 World Cup

Today, I continued to watch the World Cup. Yes, I'm a football fan. Cheering and jumping like a raving lunatic and happier than Mickey Mouse at a May parade.

It's dismal to say the least that my country is no where near the qualifying mark. We lack eye-limb coordination and all other brain necessities required for sports. Though if we did ACTUALLY qualify, i.e. the team we were playing against all suddenly dropped off the planet, the President would immediately declare it a national holiday and party for one month, ensuring that all the players were invited and their exercise regime consisted solely of raising their rum glasses to their lips.

If the World Cup suddenly morphed into a drinking contest, then you'll be stumped. We'll beat you hands down and still walk out the door sober. We're unofficially qualifying for the mythical "Drunkards of the Millennia" Award with the Irish.

So my pick for 2010 World Cup is either Argentina or Brasil. It's definitely a South American thing for me.

Argentina because Messi and Higuian are great players. I love how Diego Maradona gives bear hugs to all his players. No doubt Barcelona will miss having Messi in their team but so much more for us, South Americans who need to come together and celebrate (not that there's a shortage of parties or reasons for them: it's Wednesday, Screw Work, My period is over).

Brasil because they've got Robhinho and Elano. Simply said.

So come July 11, I'll be here, like all the dysfunctional people, raving for Argentina or Brazil. VAMOS Argentina y Brasil!!!

New Beginnings or Continuation of Old Chapters

It's 2:45AM. Insomniac, maybe. Restless, definitely. Lost, of course.

29 yrs old, in a job that I've learned all I can from, living in a country that no longer entices me, heartbroken, and living at home with the folks. 

For the last several weeks, I've been dining with doctors on a diet that consists entirely of cardboard, hold the butter please. After weeks of making me a human dartboard, the final verdict (maybe) was gallstones, acidity and cysts in both ovaries. Lovely combination for a prescription of no work, no sleep, no eating and endless assortments of pain. 

Life in comatose. Life made simple. Life who don't need you to teach its lessons. Simply to learn them. 

Almost 30. Almost married. Almost alive...but almost doesn't count, does it?