What’s the best thing about growing old?

I used to think that growing old would be a frightening and lonely moment in one’s life. I would then hear negative stories of people growing old, becoming sickly, useless and miserable with white hair and wrinkles. I also used to think that being in one’s 40s is considered old, hair all teased up and all the signs of aging very visible in one’s face.

But I now realize that these are all misconceptions — probably because times have changed. Seeing my parents still looking so young and energetic, seeing my siblings looking just the way they were 20 years ago and personally being happier with who I am  now,  just proves the saying, “Age is but a number.” I have seen and experienced that growing old isn’t so bad after all. Instead, with all our experiences behind us, growing old makes us look more credible, learned and confident.

The fear of growing old is all in the mind and if one adopts a positive and happy state of mind, growing old should never be feared but embraced and enjoyed.

Malou Laurel, real estate broker

Getting older is 20-percent discount plus 12-percent VAT exemption. It is also a privilege given by the Almighty power but denied to some, if not many.

Margie Moran Floirendo, president of Ballet Philippines

At 60, I accept that I am no spring chicken and that reality has set me free. So no matter how I look at myself in the mirror, I know I have lived and I have conquered all my fears (including eyebags, wrinkles and all). Bonding with my daughters and friends, exercise, my visits to the Belo clinic and keeping busy with Ballet Philippines and Habitat for Humanity remind me that I’m not over the hill yet, that we have to act with love and gratitude to enjoy life.

Francis Kong, inspirational and motivational speaker and writer

The thing I like most about growing old is gaining the ability to process past experiences, successes, mistakes and failures, converting them into life lessons that I can now share with others. These life lessons become fuel and energy that builds hope and excitement for future potentials and possibilities. Growing old now puts me in a unique position to make a difference by inspiring the young to become better, which is the legacy I want to leave behind.

Chit Juan, president, Women’s Business Council of the Philippines and president, Philippine Coffee Board Inc.

I like having the experience and wisdom I did not have in my younger years. I enjoy thinking and telling myself: Been there, done that. Getting older means being able to say no when you want to and not being afraid of being judged. Getting older gives you the license to be yourself, your real self.

Bong Osorio, head, ABS-CBN corporate communications

Getting older is getting richer and wiser. Richer in experience, in friends, in knowledge and skills and hopefully in finances. You are wiser, too, in the decisions you make, in relationships you build and in the investments you get into. Older is indeed richer and wiser. 

Vickie Perez De Tagle, president, PTFJ Ad

Life is funnier because I don’t mind being the butt of my own jokes. I don’t mind if it’s not always my turn anymore. I can be excused for not having hard abs or arms that are kulobot na. I don’t have to deal with drama queens or kings anymore because I can choose my own dramas now. And as George Burns says, “You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have

to get old.”

Regina O. Benitez, head, CSR Leisure& Resorts World Corp.

As we get older, we truly begin to appreciate freedom of discernment. We are able to weed out and let go of people and things that no longer matter. We also get to realize that we have less to prove. With that, we relish the diversity of our personalities, and we become more accepting of our flaws.

Ali Sotto, radio and TV personality

I love menopause! I say “Okay, life, I’m done with procreation … what’s next?” (Laughs). On a serious note, I treasure time-tested true friends. Through the ebb and flow of one’s life, people come and go, and at this age, I have separated the wheat from the chaff from the grain. There is a deep appreciation for those with whom I have shared the good times and bad, those who have seen my best and worst, those with whom in the years to come, I will fondly reminisce over the story of us.