’62 from 60 is very different to 22 from 20.’

My acupuncturist is wise and generous. Dr J exhibits calm confidence and energy derived, I suspect, from finding meaning in making a massive difference to her clients.

She is a dab hand with her needles. However, her conversation and wisdom as an acupuncturist and a doctor make her very special.

I had a session with her yesterday. She began, as always, by asking what she could do for me today. I cited a slow decline in energy levels whilst entertaining the possibility that this might be due to the passing years as much as anything medical.

Her response was notable. She talked about how the changes in our bodies speed up as we grow older, hence her comment that 62 from 60 is very different to 22 from 20.

She urged me to accept that I change with time and, significantly, accept that we are healthy for the time of our lives, not for who we were at 20 or even 30.

This is a different take on the concept of self-understanding. Of course, we may have understood ourselves all those years ago. Still, unless we change our outlook as we grow older and understand who we are today, we will grow frustrated. An integrity gap opens up, and if the difference between who we are and who we think we are grows too great, we’ll fracture.

My acupuncturist’s advice: listen to yourself and your body and accept that what we perceive about ourselves today may be very different from yesterday.

Photo by Katherine Hanlon on Unsplash