No Cure Needed. Thanks.
“I want to cure gray hair.”
Thus began an unwanted ad that appeared this week on my Instagram feed.
Ex-squeeze me?
“CURE?” Gray? Hair?
First, I didn’t know gray hair was something that needed to be “cured.” And B, is it “gray hair” you want to “cure”? Or is “gray hair” your lame euphemism for “older age”?
So many people I know have dealt—or are currently dealing—with the numerous challenges posed by life-altering and/or life-limiting diseases for which there are no cure, to me, the suggestion that gray hair is a condition that needs “curing” is beyond the pale (pun only slightly intended).
And if the term “gray hair” IS a lame euphemism for “older age,” why in the world would anyone want to “cure” that?
The fact is the reason anyone might think either gray hair or older age needs to be “cured” can be summed up in one word:
AGEISM.
And I, for one, am sick and tired of it.
I’m not naïve. I recognize that older age comes with its various challenges—biological and otherwise.
But it’s not all about challenges. Older age comes with plenty of gifts, too.
That’s right—GIFTS.
Gifts born from our life experience. The successes we’ve achieved. The mistakes we’ve made. And the lessons we’ve learned in the process.
And perhaps the most valuable gift it gives us is MORE TIME.
Time for new adventures. Time for second, third, and even fourth chances. Time to forgive. Time to reconnect. Time to pursue passions—both old and new. Time to learn. Time to share what we know.
The list goes on and on.
It’s such a shame that so many people dread what can be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling times of our lives because they’ve been prejudiced (read: brainwashed) by ageist stereotypes.
As for me, I’m happy to sport my now salt-and-pepper hair (I’ve earned every strand of gray that I’ve got)—and I’m looking forward to what this next third of my life might bring.
Which includes—hopefully—cures for the truly awful life-limiting diseases so many people are now challenged by.
NONE of which is gray hair.