The Sassy Side of Sixty: Embracing Authentic Selves in the New Year

A podcast with Sushmita Sen piqued my interest.

This was a person crowned Miss Universe 1994 at 18, who then ventured into Bollywood, but only did roles when and if she wanted to.

And unapologetically, entered scandalous relationships.

Yet, the most audacious was her bold decision to become a single parent, at 21, through adoption.

Alas, due to the societal bias and stigma attached to single women’s adoptions in India, Sushmita would go through three years of challenging legal battles before adopting Renee, which concluded with her own father committing his assets towards the adoption.

Sushmita’s high-profile win made it much easier to adopt her second daughter, Alisah, and it also mitigated similar hurdles facing other single women across the country.

She didn’t need approval to live her truth, without compromising, and exhibited gall to face the consequences thereof!

Below are some of our New Year’s commitments to live our truths:

• Honest with myself.

• Less emotional; cultivate stillness and acceptance.

• Letting go of resentment and developing empathy and forgiveness for others and for myself.

• I’m a simpleton living day by day with no complicated thoughts or emotions. In just a few more years, I will not be looking for NEXT YEAR, but will be wondering if I’ll still be kicking and alive the next day.

• At this age, instead of ‘perfect’, arriving at another year is a ‘good enough’ goal reached, whether emotionally or materially. This life has given enough to me, so I’ll aim for an easy life; I’ll take care of what’s important rather than what’s urgent and look at failure as data or a lesson.

• I like to think I am in control, so my biggest battle is surrendering completely to the Divine.

• I want to bring with me a lighter heart this new year; to practice letting go of old hurts, of the need to control outcomes, and of the constant weight of other people’s perceptions.

• I want to release myself from carrying unnecessary worries about how I am seen and to remember that my worth is not defined by the judgments or opinions of others, nor through their lens of criticism and comparison.

Rather, I’ll accept with gratitude the journey that has shaped me and will continue to live through authentic love and kindness.

I’ll also focus on self-care in a real, intentional way, as a daily act of self-love; to nurture this person, as I would a dear friend; to rest in moments of exhaustion and to say ‘no’ when I need to.

Neither am I going to shy away from celebrating my small wins.

• The year’s going to be about freedom from self-doubt; freedom from judgment, and the freedom to fully embrace who I am, as I am.

• To thrive in a life full of love and in every moment, let go of apprehension.

• Hoping to find a friend with whom to have deep tête-à-têtes, to learn to think differently, and who’ll help reduce my mood swings.

• To become emotionally resilient, kinder to myself, and better at letting go.

• Venture out of my constricted comfort zone; try new things.

• I’d love myself more and will no longer let myself be taken advantage of.

• Develop the serenity and calm to be able to overlook negative remarks and not get my feathers ruffled; it ain’t easy, but I will try.