About

I am a woman with much lived experience, nearly 69 cycles around the sun at the time of writing, and through all these many cycles I have discovered much about life, people and the world we live in.

For me, there is nothing more joy-full than sharing with others the magic that life is always offering us and the lessons we can learn if we are willing to stop, to listen and to learn. One of those lessons I have learned over the last 14 years is that ageing, contrary to all societal expectations, does not have to be all ‘downhill’ and something not to look forward to. It can be a time of change, a time of personal growth, a time to share our wonderful wisdom and skills with others and a time to enjoy in every moment.

I live in New Zealand, on a small lifestyle block, with my youngest son and family living very close by and five sheep and three alpacas grazing in the paddocks around my home. It is a joy to be able to watch some of my grandchildren growing up so close to me as they progress through the cycles of their lives.  They have taught me so much about how we often lose the joy for life as we age, getting bogged down in the daily chores and responsibilities. I am reminded constantly, by their natural joy, to not to be so serious and to bring some fun and silliness back into my life. They are definitely an important part of the inspiration to look after me with all the care possible,  so I can enjoy all the life that is here for me to live.

For many years I suffered from extensive health issues, but realise now that I simply wasn’t listening to my body when I fed it certain foods and drink  that it struggled to digest, often pushing it too hard and too fast,  and worrying about some things more than I needed to.  It took me until just after my 50th birthday, when I came across a book which read like my life story, that I  began to realise that the stresses, exhaustion and ill-health I was so often experiencing were simply a consequence of the way I had been living and the choices I had been making. This was especially when it came to the food I had been eating for most of my life, food that my body had repeatedly let me know it couldn’t deal with. But to the obvious detriment to my health, I had simply ignored the messages.  And it didn’t take too long to realise that to remove the stress, exhaustion and ill-health from my life I had to begin to make different choices from the ones I had been making for so long.  So I did!

It didn’t happen overnight, but slowly and steadily over the last 14 years, with much support and inspiration from many people and making many new choices, my life has turned right around, with my health, vitality and well-being now beyond anything I thought possible. Yes, I still have days when my body doesn’t feel so great, a little more tired than usual and maybe a few aches and pains, but instead of allowing myself to be consumed by how I am feeling I simply cast my eyes back over how I have been living in the previous few days, or weeks, to see why; and there is always is a very clear reason and a call from my body for more self-loving choices.

And this is why I know, from my own lived experience, that getting older doesn’t always have to be all ‘downhill’. We can still be vital, joyful and loving life as we age. And as for me, I feel like I am getting younger every day and this, is the Truth about Ageing that I am here to share.