I’m Suffering. Really?

Suffer. That is a weighty word; one that speaks of physical discomfort, emotional distress and mental anguish. It is a word most often reserved for those unfortunate folks who have been dealt a difficult hand in life. Perhaps the loss of a cherished member of the family or a dear friend; perhaps the diagnosis of some dreaded disease; perhaps living with a physical condition that brings about agonizing pain.

Those conditions are what come to my mind when I see or hear the word, “suffer.” And for this reason I was quite taken aback recently when the advertiser in a respected woman’s magazine suggested I could avoid the suffering of a particular affliction that befalls those of us of the Boomer and Silent Generations. I could, with the use of this advertiser’s product, avoid the suffering that comes with having wrinkles populate my face.

Now, to be quite honest, I am not in love with my wrinkles. But they happen to be etched upon my face and it is a face that has served me fairly well over the last seven decades. Until I had read this announcement I never realized I should be in emotional turmoil over them. Am I missing something here? Have I been too complacent about the physical changes overtaking my body as the years pass and the birthday’s mount up?

I am celebrating my seventy-first birthday this weekend and it is, indeed, a celebration. I look forward to indulging in my favorite foods, desserts and even an espresso martini (or three). Feeling like, “queen for a day” for the entire week and weekend, I recognize how fortunate I am to be here on this Earth with all the gifts I have been given; not merely my new espresso machine but the gifts of a beautiful life filled with loving family and friends.

Yet, when I look in the mirror to apply makeup and arrange my hair, I am staring at those dang wrinkles. In the past they had merely represented a life well lived with much laughter and joy; thus the “laugh lines”. There are also etched upon my face tiny wrinkles between my eyes, announcing to the world that I do not wear my glasses when I should. Shall I call these “squint wrinkles”? And, sure, there are those almost barely perceptible wrinkles around the edges of my lower lips that remind me pouting is not a good thing to do.

I assure you, Olay, Clinique, Dr. Andrew Weil and all you others out there, there is no suffering involved in having these well-deserved wrinkles. And the more you push your products under these deceitful pretenses, the more you demoralize those of us of the boomer and silent generations, and bully the millennials and gen x’ers into enduring unnecessary surgeries, to avoid the “affliction” of growing older.

And, that being said, I shall now reapply my makeup, tidy up my hair, put on my sharp new skirt and top and enjoy that birthday dinner, knowing that I look pretty fine – wrinkles and all. Suffering? No way!

C.J. Golden, motivational speaker and author of TAO OF THE DEFIANT WOMAN, the award winning TAO-GIRLS RULE!, and the recently published REFLECTIONS FROM BEYOND, travels the country inspiring all with her dynamic spirit and vision. Visit her at www.taogirl.com and www.reflectionsfrombeyond.com