I AM 40 AND I FEEL 40

My mirror eludes me. The protruding edema under the eyes has a tale to tell of the vanished past. The hair which once beamed with bounce and pride looks wired with a plaque of white strands swarming the crown of my head. The skin now plays tic-tac-toe with me, bereft of the largesse it once showered on me. I humbly maquillage my face with external impressions to let the inner inhibitions fade away. My body still favours me but at times look swollen and punctured with unjustified aches and pains.

YES!! I am 40 and I feel 40

Although carrying the illicit shades of denial, I feel more confident to take on life. I value friendships more—blood-waxed relationships seem overbearing and importuning. My physical appearance ambushes me often, but my mind has learnt to calibrate and introspect. The warrior in me has been replaced by a tranquil dove ready to cross the ocean of life with compassion and wisdom. I don’t wish to sound as if I am crossing the last leg of my ambiguous life, but the charade which propelled me to be envious, desirous, boisterous and level-headed has submerged into a benign whirlpool of my individualistic acceptance.

When we enter our 40s, we are overwhelmed with certain nuances of how things will change and greet us without a clank on the door. Entering 40s has its own challenges—physical, neurological and hormonal. If we compare them to the magnanimity of the 20s and 30s, it would be opening a Pandora Box. It’s better to start living with these changes by nourishing the degenerative process with a well-balanced diet, exercise and supplements.

Mentally, we tend to get fixated with our ideologies and beliefs. Nevertheless, this entire smorgasbord of a distinct thought process makes us fastidious and wise. Women, more than men, have their share of 40s back-burning. Pre-menopause and Menopause bring forth an expostulating chaos. Thinning of hair, moon swings, anxiety, palpitations, loss of muscle mass, headache and hot flushes conspicuously settle in a woman’s body to gradually take away what she was born with.

But, in spite of these upheavals, you are in better control of your mind to restructure the fall-outs, etch an identity that defines you professionally and personally and able to view life as a cornucopia of wisdom and enlightenment.

My 40s are mine as were my 20s and 30s but the demands of my body have changed. I adjust, crackle and bind again to be further torn. But, I don’t lose hope. These years would be a yardstick to venture into another era.