Maria Shriver's brother advises her, 'See yourself as a powerful, single 60-something woman'

I've appreciated reading Maria Shriver's weekly blog called "Sunday's Paper." She is a genuine and thoughtful leader on the subject of healthy aging.

This week's column recounted an interesting conversation between her and her older brother Bobby. She said: "It's funny: I never think of myself as old, but my older brother Bobby says that's a mistake. He says that recognizing that you are old allows you to look at things from a different perspective."

Bobby's advice was excellent: "Maria, you should stop seeing yourself as a young girl. Instead, see yourself as a powerful, single 60-something woman, because that's the truth. You have better mental tools and better practical tools than you did when you were 25. You have experience and wisdom.

"At 25, you see time as endless, but at your age, you should view it as a finite resource and make decisions from that place. Put your dreams into action right now. Get busy living the narrative you want."

Our age does indeed remind us that we are finite in this world. If there is something we want to get done, we better start now.

I remember when John F. Kennedy, Maria's uncle, was told that growing a bonsai garden in Washington, D.C., would take 500 years. President Kennedy said, "We better start today!"

Embracing our age and all that comes with it can be used to our advantage. We are loaded with experience, and if we have any sense at all, we can move into the future with a better navigation system. Wisdom comes with a price, but we've already paid it!

We have the opportunity to change the paradigm of aging and, as Bobby said, put our dreams into action right now. Remember, you're just now old enough.

I thought it was interesting that Shriver was promoting her new summit called, "Radically Reframing Aging: Today's Groundbreakers on Age, Health, Purpose and Joy." She is joined by an impressive list of experts on the topic of aging. She says, "The goal of the summit is to get people of all ages excited about aging. What a concept!"

I'm proud to say that between myself and the readers of this weekly column, we've been excited about aging for a long time!

Find Connie’s book, “Daily Cures: Wisdom for Healthy Aging,” at www.justnowoldenough.com.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Embracing age and all that comes with it can be used to our advantage