Episode 215 An evening with Oprah

So what stayed with me? Well, the first was the phrase I love, own your number.

Oprah is 72 and spoke proudly about her age and how good she feels at this stage of her life.

I turned 56 earlier this year.

Like many people, I've mixed feelings about getting older.

There's the shock of seeing photographs of yourself and wondering who's that old man.

Then there's the physical changes.

There's the increasing awareness of the passing of time.

And we live in a culture that often treats ageing as something to fight or hide from.

But sitting there listening to Oprah, I found myself thinking about something very simple.

How fortunate am I to be 56? Thankfully, I have my health because I'm sure like you, I know several people who would have loved to have reached the age that I am.

My age represents 56 years of living, 56 years of experiences, relationships, mistakes, achievements, disappointments, laughter, grief, love and hopefully some wisdom.

The same is true for you.

I don't want to pretend I'm 46.

I certainly don't want to go back to being 26.

Or what's that phrase I heard a while back? I don't want to dress like I'm in my 20s so people might think I'm still in my 40s.

I want to be fully 56.

I want to own my number and be proud of it.

So what stayed with me? Well, the first was the phrase I love, own your number.

Oprah is 72 and spoke proudly about her age and how good she feels at this stage of her life.

I turned 56 earlier this year.

Like many people, I've mixed feelings about getting older.

There's the shock of seeing photographs of yourself and wondering who's that old man.

Then there's the physical changes.

There's the increasing awareness of the passing of time.

And we live in a culture that often treats ageing as something to fight or hide from.

But sitting there listening to Oprah, I found myself thinking about something very simple.

How fortunate am I to be 56? Thankfully, I have my health because I'm sure like you, I know several people who would have loved to have reached the age that I am.

My age represents 56 years of living, 56 years of experiences, relationships, mistakes, achievements, disappointments, laughter, grief, love and hopefully some wisdom.

The same is true for you.

I don't want to pretend I'm 46.

I certainly don't want to go back to being 26.

Or what's that phrase I heard a while back? I don't want to dress like I'm in my 20s so people might think I'm still in my 40s.

I want to be fully 56.

I want to own my number and be proud of it.