Younger by the Day
365 Ways to Rejuvenate Your Body and Revitalize Your Spirit.
Younger by the Day is a one-year program for aging in reverse with results that start as soon as you do - and you can start any day of the year.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to love your life through every age and stage of it? Appreciate yourself every step of the way? And have such vitality that, even though you're perfectly proud of the age you are, people routinely think you're several years younger? This happy state is the promise of Younger by the Day, a one-year program for aging in reverse with results that start as soon as you do - and you can start any day of the year.
I was baffled when midlife seemed to change everything from the shape of my body to my visibility in society. I began a four-year journey, asking these questions: "Why do some women blossom with age while others wither? How can you accept yourself as you are and still nurture yourself into becoming the best you can be? How can you draw from your inner wisdom everything you need to deal with the uncertainties of life as well the certainty of growing older?"
I found some answers, turned the clock back a little, and distilled what I learned here for you to put into use, one day at a time.
Younger by the Day is the first daybook that deals with becoming healthier, more energetic, and more vibrant after 40 than you were before. Its bite-sized daily readings, each with either an action to take or an affirmation to work with, comprise a complete program that will have you both looking and feeling more youthful and vital on your next birthday than you were on your last one. You'll find immediately applicable information about diet, supplements, skin care, exercise, rest, and natural remedies, plus ways to embrace the age you are, love yourself more than ever, and make the rest of your life the best of your life.
What they're saying
"Younger by the Day is a path for awakening the timeless part of yourself - the part that shines through and makes you appear ageless, no matter how old you are!" (Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom)
"Younger by the Day is not your typical daily calendar. Moran has packed so much wonderful information into this masterpiece, I plan on reading it year after year after year. What an inspirational - and fun! - way to grow younger. I wholeheartedly recommend this daily guide!" (Louise Hay, author of You Can Heal Your Life)
"Younger by the Day is the most inspiring book I have read--filled with wisdom, inspiration and common sense on every page. You can pick it up anywhere. This is a book to read over and over. I loved it." (Dayle Haddon, model and author of Ageless Beauty)
"Younger By the Day is lovely, courageous and inspired. I trust if anyone can take us on a journey into younger days it is Victoria Moran. This book has the heart and the gentle tools. Here's to the youngest year of my adult life - and yours!" (Leah Komaiko, author of Am I Old Yet?)
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
I. January: Possibility
II. February: Love
III. March: Power
IV. April: Lightness and Humor
V. May: Beauty
VI. June: Pleasure and Delight
VII. July: Freedom
VIII. August: Ease
IX. September: Wisdom
X. October: Magic
XI. November: Connection
XII. December: Celebration
XIII. Recommended Reading
XIV. Index
Read a Chapter - October 31. Getting Mortality Out of the Way.
For most of us, October 31 means Halloween. In Mexico, however, this is the first of a three-day observance, Día de los Muertos, Day of the Dead. It is a celebration of those who have gone before, and a fitting time for us to get mortality out of the way. Make no mistake: We dread aging because we fear death-not necessarily the "we" that's you and me, but the "we" that's humanity and that we're part of.
It is an error of our linear thinking, however, that we so readily link death to old age. None of us knows how long we've got. Linear thinking sees conception, birth, growth, maturity, decline, death. Cosmic thinking sees no such straight line. When you're talking birth and death and life and wonder, you're into circles and spirals and arcs and coils. Joel Goldsmith wrote a powerful book on metaphysics called A Parenthesis in Eternity. That is my favorite title of any book because it defines life on earth in a pithy, perfect phrase. When you see that the life you're living as a woman of a certain nationality and at a certain time is simply a parenthesis in eternity, you gain much more acceptance around mortality. Even so, you, the whole of you, are not a parenthetical expression. You're the entire book or thesis or 24-volume set.
You're astonishing-and, I believe, immortal-soul has deigned to occupy your astonishing, albeit mortal, body. You've heard of guilt by association? This is grace by association. The very fact that your body is housing your soul makes it a place worthy of great respect and tender care. The reality that your soul will move on one day does not negate the sanctity of your body-soul unit today.
It stands to reason that anyone who learns to live well will die well. The skills are the same: being present in the moment, and humble, and brave, and keeping a sense of humor. A Buddhist nun once told me that, just as falling asleep happy and at peace means that you'll likely wake up in that pleasant state, dying happy and at peace means waking up that way on the other side of life.
I had a tutor for dying and he was a cat. Albert was old-twenty-one, we figured-and thin but not apparently unwell. He seemed excited the day Gail Grasso, a producer from the The Oprah Winfrey Show, arrived with a camera crew to film a segment at our house in Kansas City. I didn't think he would get to be on television-he was old and skinny after all-but when Gail looked at him through the camera lens, she said, "Albert looks great on camera." (It must be true about its adding ten pounds.)
Albert got to be on the show, a spry, sprightly cat showing his lovely yellow, short-haired self to the world on TV. The next day, however, he wasn't able to jump up on the furniture anymore, so we made him a bed on the floor. A few days after that, he stopped eating. The vet suggested we encourage him with whole cream and shredded cheese, but nothing appealed. It wasn't long before he wasn't drinking either. I tried giving him water with an eye dropper, but he turned his head. The following morning I sat on the floor and held him. He purred just a little. Adair held him next. And then he died, with the elegance and dignity of a being who had lived both long and well. My prayer is that when my time comes, I'll be even half as poised in the face of it as Albert.
It's all circles. There was a kitten who became a cat. He grew old, got his fifteen seconds of fame (cats aren't greedy that way), and taught me how to die. Now I'm telling you and if it helps, Albert gets a little immortality right here on earth.
Today and every day, then, live bountifully and take it all in. Of course tend to your will and a living will and the other necessary paperwork that keeps your lawyer in billable hours. Beyond all that, though, see that you love lots of people and things, give lots of money and time, learn all you can, and create colorful memories. Be good to your body and your family and friends and to this planet that has graciously agreed to be your foster mom while you're here. And rest in the assurance that this four-score-and-whatever is no more the sum of your life as a whole than that spring break in Fort Lauderdale was the sum of your life this time around. There is more to you than you're able to know, and more to this process than any of us is equipped to imagine.
Revitalize your life with words: I live fully, knowing my life is part of a grand design.