Can Old Be Beautiful? (Cultivating Compassion in Children)

How We Defy Nature Impacting Self-Worth

Society glorifies youth and views aging as something to be resisted or reversed. Several well-knows actresses have spoken out on this issue. Jamie Lee Curits is an out-spoken advocate for embracing natural aging, stating she’s pro-aging and against the term anti-aging. She believes in owning it and refusing to conceal reality. Julia Roberts states, “I’m aging with dignity, humor, and serenity. I don’t resort to lifting or Botox and I know by Hollywood standards I’m risking my career,” And finally, Meryl Streep says, “Aging means letting go. It means accepting; it means discovering that beauty was never in our skin ... but in the story we carry inside." This anti-aging movement extends beyond adults, affecting even small children in subtle yet profound ways, impacting their self-worth. Children absorb these societal messages and cultural norms and can develop insecurities about their natural growth and change. This stereotype of aging is related to any natural phenomime with looks or how we appear. Society promotes constant “perfecting” of how we look from our lips, eyes, face, hair, nose, etc. Today’s industry thrives on the notion that being who we are naturally is often undesirable, portraying it as a problem to be solved or concealed rather than just another form of beauty or something to be accepted as is.