How to develop a positive attitude to ageing

Think of the countless times you have tried to create your own space, physically or metaphorically, in your life – just a tiny little area that is yours. Was it your first tree house or the fort under your bed? Later a chair in your shared bedroom? Eventually, if you were really lucky, your space grew up into a sewing room or your very own office?

Or maybe it is just a space in your head, a moment of awareness.

What makes this room your own, and why do you seek it your whole life? There is magic in these spaces and that magic defines a room as “yours.” When you shut the doors, real or imagined, to your room, another door within the room opens and there is a glimpse into infinity that reminds you that no matter what you were when you entered this space, within this space you are endless potential.

In this room of yours, you are safe, and what is conceived in this space is born of the confidence and self-knowledge safety allows. In this room, risk is magically morphed into adventure. In this room, the mirrors show one perfect face, one perfect body, because they hold your image not in glass but in the reflection of self-respect.

Very selectively you might invite someone else into this space… a child curled in your lap for a minute or a spouse offering a cup of tea. They leave a little discombobulated. “That was nice,” they think to themselves as they wander off, not quite sure where they have been but knowing it felt good.

What if your 50th birthday is the doorway into this room? What if, from that day on, you live in your room, a room of your own, a room called you. No more stolen moments – this space is this season of your life.

I can see you now, dressed to kill, grinning ear to ear, sashaying your way up to those 50 birthday candles with a light in your eyes, ready to take possession of your room. “I am here,” you say. “I have arrived.”

In Fifty & Fabulous, Jaki Scarcello reveals how changing our attitude toward ageing can spark a ‘virtuous cycle’ of rejuvenation and renewal. Women who know this embrace the years after 50 with a spirit of optimism and energy that is truly liberating. They understand that in maturity a woman has the potential for genuine elegance, a beauty more than skin-deep that sparkles confidently and generously from the eyes, and a whole new brand of personal sexiness. On a deeper level, they possess a secret power and joy that radiate outward into the world and illuminate everyone around them.

 ‘Scarcello bubbles with enthusiasm over her subject…’ LA Times

Fifty and Fabulous by Jaki Scarcello

£8.99

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