Aging Gratefully with Pro-Age Advocate Margaret Osler of Aging is Amazing
Show Snapshot:
Thanksgiving is upon us, the holidays beckon. Yet we are in a time when the world feels increasingly fraught. Recalibrate your joie de vivre with the warm and wise Margaret Osler of the social media account Aging is Amazing. Margaret uses her account to focus on the small wonders and beauty of daily life, share supportive affirmations, and celebrate the joys of natural aging. If you are looking for a moment of Zen in the maelstrom of your week, if you need a reminder that this season of life brings remarkable gifts—as we become slowly wiser, truer, and more content, this conversation is for you!
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Quotable:
I have no fear of getting older and having more lines. I just want to be at ease and to be totally present to my world and the people around me. To me that is the ultimate beauty.
Transcript:
Katie Fogarty 0:03
Welcome to A Certain Age, a show for women who are unafraid to age out loud. I'm your host, Katie Fogarty. Beauties, midlife is full of surprises. One of the biggest may be how social media, which we often think of as a wild, wacky, weird space, can also be a wonderful source of inspiration, connection and kinship. My guest today is a source of radiance and light on Instagram. Seriously. Now I know that the word radiant is not normally used in the same sentence or breath as Instagram, but there you have it. I told you midlife is full of surprises. My guest today is Margaret Osler who goes by the Instagram handle @agingisamazing, and who reminds us in every post, in every Instagram square, of the beauty, wonder and magic of life and aging, which is after all, living. I'm excited to connect with her today to learn how she got started online, and to explore her thinking on why aging is in fact, amazing. Welcome, Margaret.
Margaret Osler 1:01
Thank you, Katie. Oh my gosh, I have like butterflies in my stomach. That was such a nice introduction. Thank you so much.
Katie Fogarty 1:09
Oh, you're so welcome. I'm really excited about this. I love when you post and I love reading your words, they all, they make me feel great when I read them. You really have a sort of just a very unique way of honing in on small details of everyday life and sort of just lighting them up for us. So I'm really excited to talk about, you know, aging, and all you're doing online with you. As I said, during my introduction, you've got an incredibly popular Instagram account. I just would love to start by asking you what made you launch this? What made you decide to celebrate natural aging on Instagram?
Margaret Osler 1:48
Well, thank you again, for your kind words. Um, you know, it's interesting, because when I started on Instagram, I never ever expected, I never really expected what has happened. So I used to always just be on Facebook as a regular kind of just a normal woman posting pictures and writing. And I always have loved to write and share my thoughts. And I often took a lot of pictures of nature and family, different things like that. But while I was on Facebook, I constantly had people telling me I should be writing, I should write a book. And I have, I had a lot of that happening. So I started kind of thinking about going into an Instagram space and just kind of starting fresh with a new audience and just posting and writing and seeing what would, seeing what would happen. And then kind of simultaneously, I was making the decision to let my hair go gray naturally. And I started researching, looking up, just for different pictures of inspiration of different women with gray hair, I was just kind of googling it. And in doing so I was very inspired. And it really kind of helped me make the decision that I definitely wanted to take that journey of letting my hair go gray. And I learned that there was this whole beautiful community on Instagram. So I just got on for myself kind of thinking, well, that'd be great, I'll get on, I'll do a little writing, I'll post some pictures here and there. And I'll document my gray hair journey as I go. And I really just thought it would be my own little, kind of a small account. And then before long, it just, I don't know, it just kind of blew up. It was such a surprise and a shock to me. And then here we are now about a year and a half later and it's become just a huge part of my life. And I've made so many friends here and I've ended up, now I'm working for different companies, representing companies. And it just, it was really a total surprise.
Katie Fogarty 4:01
Yeah, it's such a, such a cool evolution. And I first of all, I love the fact that you didn't know where it was going to end and that you still got started anyway because sometimes I think that's like, that's the secret sauce to life. Like you don't have to know how things are going to end to begin something.
Margaret Osler 4:16
Yeah.
Katie Fogarty 4:16
But I know that your account is really, you still do share a lot of content around silver hair and transition, but it's really evolved way beyond that. It did sort of begin a little bit documenting your silver transition. We're going to talk about that in a minute, but I would love to hear your thinking on why are people so fascinated by silver transitions, including yours, like why do you think it is that, that is so captivating to so many?
Margaret Osler 4:44
Well, I don't know for sure. I haven't actually questioned people on that. I have a few, a few ideas on what, why. First, I think that our society is getting very tired of the toxic beauty standards that are out there, seeing the effect that it's having on our young, young girls and women today. So many young girls, I have young daughters, myself, one in college, and I listen to these girls, and they all have this ideal image of what beauty is and what they should look like in order to be considered beautiful. And it's really kind of scary. And I just think that our society is, I think we're all very aware of this with all the eating disorders, and there's so much pressure on girls and women to feel a certain way. And so I think that we're almost kind of seeing a swing of the pendulum of people now starting to see, wow, there's women that are really, really looking beautiful in their natural beauty, accepting their lines and wrinkles and accepting their gray hair. And maybe this is a good thing. And I think more women are getting excited about it. And I think even men are getting excited about it. I have a friend who's in the news world, and he's, just from, you know, listening to me and seeing what's happened on my page, he's thinking of letting himself go gray now too because he even has felt the pressure to dye his hair just in the news media as a man.
Katie Fogarty 6:19
Yeah. It's so wild, it's so wild all this pressure.
Margaret Osler 6:23
I really think that's a big part of it. I'm sorry, what, sorry?
Katie Fogarty 6:26
No, I was just saying it's so wild, that people have this sort of pressure to feel that they need to have this sort of artificial and, and, you know, forever youth and that you have dark hair forever. You know, you did make the leap, you made the transition. I've done one show on going gray with a, sort of a silver hair evangelist named Katie Goes Platinum. I don't know if you're familiar with her account, but there's so many wonderful accounts.
Margaret Osler 6:52
There are.
Katie Fogarty 6:53
We're not only going to focus on your silver hair, but you know, before we move away from this, you know, for somebody who's listening who's thinking, I too am sick of like the toxic beauty culture, I'm so sick of spending all the time, money and energy it takes to you know, continue to color my hair, what advice might you give somebody who's beginning to think about or starting at the beginning of their silver hair transition? And this can be kind of big picture advice, like supportive advice, or maybe small practical tips, what might you offer?
Margaret Osler 7:25
Um, well, I would, first I would say, to a lot of women, you cannot really know what it's going to look like, until you really let it go probably at least six or seven months. A lot of people see just the roots and they don't like the way it looks. But it's amazing how it changes and the silver pattern and the different grays and different shading emerges. And most often, I always think, you know, God doesn't make mistakes, Mother Nature doesn't make mistakes. It's usually really beautiful and most women love it even though they might not at the beginning. So I would say be patient and if you're going to try it, stick with it for a while before you change your mind. I would also say that, to know that in doing so, whether you have an Instagram account or not, you've definitely helped to inspire and encourage other women who might be wanting to do it. And when they see you doing it, you can be a source of inspiration. And you're giving a gift to to other women by doing it, I think, and just know that helping change this narrative and this negative view on gray hair is, it's just a beautiful thing to be part of. And I also think you're helping your daughters with acceptance of themselves and for young girls to see, wow, beauty comes in all forms, my mom looks great just letting herself become who she is. So I think knowing that you can be an inspiration is empowering and also give yourself time to learn to love it and to see how beautiful it can be.
Katie Fogarty 9:00
Yeah, I think the notion of being patient is smart for not just your silver hair transition but life. You know, we can really be impatient when we look to make make changes. I'm thinking about myself personally, you know, with like weight training and fitness it's like being patient is a nugget of wisdom that we should be using to apply to all sorts of things.
Margaret Osler 9:20
That's so true. So true.
Katie Fogarty 9:23
I know, but it's so hard. And I will say get to midlife has made me a bit more patient but it's still, you know, a work, very much a work in progress. Margaret, we're heading into a quick break. When we come back we're gonna keep focusing on some of the content you share on your, on your page.
Margaret Osler 9:38
Okay.
Katie Fogarty 9:39
[AD BREAK]
Margaret, we're back from the break. We were talking about the power of being patient and how sometimes it gets a little bit easier when we get to midlife. One of the, you know, your account focuses on way more than simply a silver transition. Although I know that's really how you kind of got started and really built an audience, but I know that you've evolved your platform and you really talk sort of more broadly about the joy of aging and practices that bring you joy in your own personal life. I, you know, we're recording this, the show at a time when it is crystal clear that the world needs some more joy right now. And I'm just curious, has getting older in any way changed the calculus of what brings you joy? And what brings you peace in your own life?
Margaret Osler 10:24
Ah, that's a good question. You know, yeah, yes, it has, in some ways, I've always found joy in the same things. A big part of my joy in life is that I'm just very much drawn to beauty in everything in the world. Like, if I walk into your house, my eye is going to find all the beautiful parts in your house, even if it's a mess, I will see something beautiful and I focus on that. And it's the same thing if I'm outside or if I'm in a restaurant, in my own home, I'm very, very drawn to, to beauty and I think that's always been there. And it's always been a big part of my life. But I think now, in answer to your question, I think that's much more a part of my life. Whereas when I was younger, you know, there's a lot of other things that are a little more frivolous kind of things that are more like in the world in society kind of things you know, like clothes and parties and you know, all that stuff that's fun when you're younger. But now I find I can enjoy myself almost anywhere I am in any circumstance, because I am able to, I'm very mindful of what is good and what is beautiful around me and I do really try to help the people that I engage with on social media, I try to help them to see that because I just think it brings you so much peace and joy in your life.
Katie Fogarty 11:57
That's such a beautiful lens to look through the world, to look explicitly for what's good and beautiful. Taking this gorgeous lens, how do you look at aging through it? What do you see as good and beautiful about the experience of aging and aging naturally?
Margaret Osler 12:17
You know, I just, it's very hard to put it into words but I, when I look at a woman who, first of all, I think a woman who is confident, or a man, who is very confident and at ease with their aging self is, I think that is beautiful right there. And whether you have, you know, many deep lines, if, you know, a woman, say a woman who has deep lines in her face, but she's so present to the people that are around her and she's interested in people and she's smiling and laughing and she has a twinkle in her eye. To me that is just so beautiful. Seeing a woman with, you know, long gray hair maybe twisted up into a loose beautiful bun with a few pieces hanging down and she's out working in her garden just immersed in the beauty of the natural world around her. To me that is a more stunning image than a woman walking on a catwalk with a perfect body and perfect makeup. I just, I just see, you know, the aging hands of, of a man or a woman holding a book reading to their grandchild and you just think of all they've been through and you can just see, I think, I think looking at a natural, beautiful aging person who is at ease and present in the world is just a sign of a beautiful life, a sign of a contented life. And I just can't wait to be that, I already am that, I mean I have no fear. I have no fear of getting older and getting more lines. I just want to be at ease and to be totally present to my, the world and the people around me. And to me that is the ultimate beauty. Does this answer your question?
Katie Fogarty 14:15
Oh my gosh, it more than answers my question. And I think that's what actually attracts me to your account, and which you know must, I'm assuming is what attracts, you know you have more than 100,000 followers. When people, the sort of joy and radiance that you bring to your everyday life and the way that you sort of talk about aging is so beautiful as well. I mean, you know Instagram is visual imagery but you also have such beautiful captions that really, you know, you feel so inspired when you're reading them. And this notion of no fear of getting older is something that really resonates with me. And I think you talk about it so joyfully, this notion that aging is living and, you know, that we are, it's a beautiful gift to have in the world. When we think about aging as living and something to be embraced, why do you feel that so many people are not able to, to accept that? I mean, have you always felt this sort of joyful spirit around aging? Or is it, has your attitude about no fear around this phase of life been something that you acquired when you were in it?
Margaret Osler 15:25
Well, I think, I think a little bit of both, I did have wonderful examples in my life. I have beautiful aunts, and uncles and my parents too, who really embraced life and didn't worry about their age, it just was never even a thing we talked about, they just loved life and loved the world and the people around them. So I had this great example. So that was a good head start for me. But I will say, I definitely had times, you know, probably in my 30s, early 40s, maybe I definitely went through a time where I wanted to, you know, wanted to keep looking young, obviously, I dyed my hair for a long, long time. So I, there was a time when I wasn't ready to accept that, I guess. But then, you know, life experience has taught me, I've been through a lot of difficult times with people in my life that I love and hardships and I think life has taught me what's really important, for one. And so that has been a gradual evolving, helping me toward that, plus the examples I had. But then I will also say that being on Instagram and the process of going gray, and being surrounded by so many other women who were much further along in this journey, and being inspired by them, and watching them accept it too has helped me immensely. So I know right now, there's a lot of people that are saying I'm inspiring them. But I was inspired by all those who went before me as well. So there's no doubt about that this community of, called silver sisters, has a huge impact on all of us, everyone that is part of this going gray journey I think, gains momentum in the losing that fear of aging when you see how beautifully so many other women are doing it.
Katie Fogarty 17:27
Yeah, 100%. I mean, I had a wonderful guest on, I can't even remember now, it was several months ago. Her name is Dr. Amanda Hanson, she goes by the Instagram handle @themidlifemuse and she talked about the importance of really kind of cleaning up your social media feeds, you know, making sure that you are following age positive accounts that make you feel seen celebrated and supported in midlife or during your transition, and deleting accounts that make you feel diminished in any way because you're getting older. And I very much appreciated her suggestion that we make sure that we are, you know, looking at imagery that does not make us feel inadequate, or less than.
Margaret Osler 18:09
Right.
Katie Fogarty 18:09
And I would take it even a step further to say, you know, to only, you know, really support companies and brands that speak to you as a consumer, in a supportive way too.
Margaret Osler 18:22
Yes.
Katie Fogarty 18:23
You know, to really, I don't want to open my medicine cabinet and see anti aging products.
Margaret Osler 18:27
Right.
Katie Fogarty 18:27
Because to your point, aging is living. We needed to really vote with our dollars. We need to, you know, be interacting with brands, communities, experiences, people, that make us feel celebrated. Because you know, we get, we get one go here.
Margaret Osler 18:45
You're right. I completely agree, completely. And I've had a lot of anti aging brands reach out to me, and it, which surprises me because I'm clearly pro age. But I do get a lot of people that ask me to do, represent their anti aging creams and things and I won't do that. More so just because I feel like we need to just change as a society, change those words for, so that our children don't think of aging as a terrible place to be headed.
Katie Fogarty 19:18
Yeah, absolutely. Because it's something that we're all going to experience. And I love what you shared too about being in a family where aging was not really a topic of conversation or that, you know, there was vibrant aging occurring around you. And I honestly feel like I've had that same experience as well. I think about my own mother, my mother in law, who you know, are really just like the energizer bunnies, you know, that are always doing, exploring, growing, just so beautiful. My mom, you know, silver naturally at 60. You know, never, she was a beauty, was and is a beautiful woman but never sort of prioritized beauty as, like a virtue. You know, so I think that it just makes it, it makes it a little bit easier when you see those role models. And that's some of the beautiful things, I think about social media, you know, we've just sort of outlined some of the negative things that you can feel diminished in some way, or that maybe social media might be, you know, perpetrating this sort of unrealistic, you know, impossible standards of beauty on our children. But social media also can be a vibrant sort of community where you can really connect with people who, who are experiencing the same things that you are. I've had listeners reach out to me to say they feel better about aging, by virtue of listening to this podcast, and that makes -
Margaret Osler 20:40
Oh, I'm sure.
Katie Fogarty 20:41
- that makes me feel so good. You know, we need to be having these conversations, and we need to be celebrating this time of life. And I think you do.
Margaret Osler 20:49
Absolutely.
Katie Fogarty 20:50
You do that.
Margaret Osler 20:51
Yes. And thank you so much for your, for all that you do with this podcast to make women feel that way. Because that is what we need more of for sure.
Katie Fogarty 20:59
Yeah. You know, we're competing against a lot of very loud voices that, you know, try to make you feel like aging makes you irrelevant, or, you know, you're not marketable, or you know, that you don't have currency. And and that's all, you know, just bullshit frankly.
Margaret Osler 20:59
Right.
Katie Fogarty 20:59
But, you know, I wanted to ask you something about, I saw a recent Instagram post of yours, I know that sometimes you talk about the vibrancy of aging and the beauty of it. But you also talk about things that you've let go of. And you shared a fairly recent Instagram post about a trip that you took with your husband to Iceland, and you share that you left something very, you know, big behind. And I would love it, if you could tell our listeners, what that was, and the difference that it made in your trip and whether or not you're still using this sort of practice in your daily life.
Margaret Osler 21:52
Okay, yes. Well, what I shared was that I made a decision before I went that I was going to leave all my expectations behind. And I, you know, I often will go on a trip and I have a certain idea in my mind of what's going to happen, or it doesn't even have to be a trip, like you said, it could be every day, we may go into a day or an experience with expectations. And I have been learning more and more in my life that expectations really are what lead to disappointment. And if we don't have any expectations, then everything just unfolds as new and exciting and interesting. And even if it's a flop, then you can laugh about it. And because you just didn't have any set idea of what was supposed to happen or what was supposed to be. So it did make a huge difference. My husband even commented, you are so good natured to me on the trip, because I just, and I know I usually am but I know I was even a little bit more for him to make that comment. You know, we couldn't find a place to eat. And we just kind of kept going until we found a spot, or we, you know, I can't think of the specific examples right now of when it really hit me. But I felt it the whole time. And I kept reminding myself, how I left these expectations home and how beautiful, how much more beautiful my experience was each day. And I have tried to continue that in answer to your question. And wake up with no expectations. And I'm a prayerful person, so I usually just ask God to guide the steps of my day. And even if I have a certain plan in my mind, if there's something that God thinks is more important than what I have planned, I always want to remain open to saying okay, I'm gonna put that aside because this is in front of me now. And apparently this is what I need to, to tend to.
Katie Fogarty 23:59
Expectations keep you rigid. If you expected your day to go a certain way, you're less open to having this sort of more expansive day where you're really having new experiences and allowing things to become you know, a little bit magical or whimsical or serendipitous in ways that don't happen when we expect certain, you know, when you shared this on Instagram I think one of the reasons why really jumped out at me is it reminded me a little bit about that quote about how comparison is the thief of joy. You know, because here like expectations can be the thief of joy. If you're not, if you expect things to go one way and they go the other, you have this experience of disappointment.
Margaret Osler 24:38
Yes.
Katie Fogarty 24:38
I would also say that I think a lot of people, we can look at aging through this sort of rubric too. Where we have, we've been, we have sort of a set viewpoint that may be pop culture or what we read or consume and media has told us what aging is meant to look like and that we need to sort of, I don't know, perhaps disrupt the way we even expect aging to go because it can be, it can be different than what we've been led to believe it's going to be by so much of the culture that we consume. Do you agree with this or am I just babbling here?
Margaret Osler 25:18
No, absolutely. No, no, no, no, no, I absolutely do believe that everything you're saying is true. And yeah, I mean, we, even just the example of me telling women to wait, and don't give up on your gray hair journey if you don't like how it's looking at first, you know. Because a lot of women will say, oh, I thought I was gonna have this full, thick hair of, you know, this beautiful solid, shiny silver, like I saw a certain silver sister having. And mine is just very salt and pepper. And they're disappointed in that, but their salt and pepper is their natural radiance and they look beautiful. Like, we can't think that just because we don't look like someone else, or because our day doesn't go like someone else's day, or, that that's not good, or that's not beautiful. It's just what happens naturally, usually is what's best and usually what can bring us joy. So I say you just have to kind of, it's almost like, you know, close your eyes and just walk into the world and feel the breeze and accept what comes your way and enjoy it because I just think you will be met with so much beauty and peace if you live that way. Rather than being like you said, rigid and expecting things to unfold in a certain way.
Katie Fogarty 26:41
It's interesting, though, because it's almost like you have to approach this sort of as a hybrid state, like you have to be open to, you know, rethinking the way you view the world, you know. Either your day, how you thought it was gonna happen, or what you think it means to age, and you have to be open to new possibilities. But on the other hand, we also want to bring some agency to our lives, you know, we think about the agency that we need to bring to the choices that we're making about, how do we age in a healthy way? How do we care for our bodies? You know, some of it, we have to take action on. And I know if, when I look at what you shared about your own career, you know, you've had a career that's done different things. You used, your early career was in education in different forms and now you're a content creator online, you know. So you've made, you know, sort of these, sort of proactive shifts in your life and how you're showing up professionally in the world today. Do you feel like moving from education to content creating was like an enormously big pivot, a big change in lane? Or do you feel that there's a through line to the way that you have evolved professionally?
Margaret Osler 27:53
I think it's been, it's very naturally involved or evolved, you know, I started out, went to college to be a teacher. I always just loved people and loved kids. And just, you know, when I was a little girl, I was playing school up in my bedroom, with my dolls. So it was just kind of like a natural progression. I went to school to be an educator, came out of school and taught in elementary school for a lot of years, in and out with having my children. And then was a stay at home mom for quite a while. But even during then I was using my education skills as a mom, you know. I mean, we're always teaching, and we're always inspiring. And then, after staying home with my kids, for a while, I felt as though I didn't, I didn't feel called to go back to young children anymore, because I had spent so much time raising children and teaching young children. And I felt like I wanted to do something with older kids or adults. And then I just kind of fell into this job of running a youth ministry program for middle school and high schoolers in our community and that I absolutely loved and it became a very, very big special thing here in our community. Well, it was when I started and then it just got better. And I just always had this sense and I always had people telling me that I, that they were, they were inspired by my, just my presence and love of the world and that, you know, people we're just kind of always encouraging me to do more with it and keep it up. And maybe you should be writing books, and just kind of had that, it was like a natural evolution into different things and people continually encouraging me. And then around the time of COVID, and I stopped that job for a lot of different reasons, there was a lot of, I had some sickness in my family and then I had one daughter getting married another daughter getting ready to go to college, there was just so much going on. So I retired from that position at the church. And then a little while after that, I'm like, I think I'll start writing, getting, you know, get on social media and just kind of start blogging a little bit, writing a little bit. And then before I knew it, I was here and everyone was saying, see, you just can't stop inspiring, whatever you do is inspiring.
Katie Fogarty 30:28
Right, it really exploded. It exploded, it exploded in interest. That's actually one of the reasons Margaret, why I wanted to invite you onto the show too to, you know, to have this conversation with you because it's, to me just so interesting how, you know, I, you decided to start, you know, blogging through, you know, the squares of Instagram and really connected with a large audience. I decided to launch a podcast during the pandemic, you know, I had -
Margaret Osler 30:53
Which is awesome, I love it.
Katie Fogarty 30:55
- no one, you know, no one gave us permission to do either of these things, you know.
Margaret Osler 30:59
Right.
Katie Fogarty 30:59
And like, I had no particular podcasting expertise, and I don't have any particular expertise on midlife. I'm just curious like you, and I see so much beauty in all the different, I see so much awesomeness. Sometimes I, sometimes I'll say like midlife awesomeness is a 24/7 situation. I could talk to a different woman every single day, who are doing incredible things in midlife. And I, you know, I'm having this conversation, you're inspiring people on Instagram. And I think you know, for any listener here who's thinking, quite often, I sometimes feature experts who are doctors, you know, or women who've launched like large businesses. But there, there are so many ways to reinvent yourself and to, you know, focus in on what you truly care about, and bring it forth into the world in midlife. You do not need anyone to give you permission to do these things, you can just do them on your own. And I think you're such a wonderful example of that. You have things that you care about, you have ways you want to communicate, and you're doing it. And it's resonated with such an enormous audience. I think it's just so powerful to lean into what you care about. What's your thinking on that?
Margaret Osler 32:13
I think you're right. Yeah, I do. And if I could just back up and give another example to your, to your listeners, of that it was my taking this job as the youth, the director of the youth ministry here, I had no theology degree. I did not have background in that, I knew how to educate people, but I, you know, I had never done anything in a theological environment like that. Except I had my own faith, which I loved. And I love people, and I'm organized and I, you know, those, I had a lot of qualities that were necessary. But a lot of people that have that job have degrees in theology, but the person who hired me believed that, like you just said, if someone has a passion for something, and they really love something, they are, they'll achieve it. And they'll do it. And she believed in me, and asked me to do this. And I did. And it was, it was wonderful, too. And, you know, it's, there's a great saying that says, God doesn't call the qualified, he just qualifies the called. So if you feel called to do something, it'll work out.
Katie Fogarty 33:16
I love that. I've never heard that expression and it's so beautiful. So beauties, if you feel called to do something, you know, you can go ahead and do it. And eventually, by dint of steady application, you will become qualified, you develop that expertise that you need. And, you know, that woman saw something in you, but like, everyone needs to see something in themselves also. You know, that is, that to me is one of the big things that I've learned from recording the show, from getting to be 54, you know, which I turned 54 last month.
Margaret Osler 33:47
Oh, happy birthday!
Katie Fogarty 33:48
Thank you, thank you. You know, we, you need to believe in yourself. That's the only person that can give you permission to go after your dreams. So, so, go for it. Margaret, we're heading into our speed round in just a minute because our time is coming to a close. And this is just one to two word answers, or maybe a fragment of thoughts so we can kind of end on a high energy note and share a little bit more of yourself with our listeners before we say goodbye. Are you ready?
Margaret Osler 34:15
Okay, I'll try.
Katie Fogarty 34:18
I know you're more than ready. Okay, creating content can be solitary work. This hack or activity keeps me feeling connected and very sane and centered:
Margaret Osler 34:30
Um, I think engaging with the other women that are following me and just hearing from them that they are inspired by what I do. That just kind of keeps me going and I also am inspired by them. So I think it's just the engaging with the people that I'm with on my page that, I think that's my greatest inspiration is wanting to inspire them and wanting to give back to them for all that I received from them.
Katie Fogarty 35:04
I love it. Okay, social media can offer community inspiration, you just shared that. Is there an age positive social account that you follow that we should have on our radar?
Margaret Osler 35:16
Oh my gosh, there's so many. I feel bad naming only one. You know, I absolutely love so many people, I hate to even say one. But I'll give you the, I'll give you the first one that pops out. @ichoosegray is her handle name.
Katie Fogarty 35:36
Great.
Margaret Osler 35:37
And she is just, she was one of the first people that I started following and I just fell in love with her. She's so inspiring. I think anyone that follows her will have absolutely no fear of aging, because she is, she just exemplifies beautiful aging.
Katie Fogarty 35:57
Well, thank you so much. I have not heard of that account. I'm so excited to follow it. What skill or trade has getting older given you that eluded you when you were younger?
Margaret Osler 36:08
Yes, I would say it is my ability to now let go. Like you said, I do post a lot about that. I used to hold on to worry and trying to help, trying to fix people that I love. And I have learned that you just cannot do the work of another person. And you can only do your own and you have to let go of other people, you know, you have to let go of things that aren't yours to carry. I think that has been my biggest life lesson. It took me years and years to get there. And now I have gotten there and I, it's a big part of why I feel so content and peaceful now that I've learned to let go.
Katie Fogarty 36:49
Marvelous, that sounds phenomenal. What is a joy that you can access now that you're older that might have surprised you when you were younger? Is there something that you do or that gives you joy that you would, your younger self could never have imagined?
Margaret Osler 37:03
Oh, just sitting alone in a room with a huge stack of books and a highlighter. And reading and highlighting and taking notes and just being inspired by other people's wisdom is huge, hugely joyful for me and so relaxing and peaceful. And I would have not thought that when I was younger.
Katie Fogarty 37:24
That sounds like heaven. Margaret, I know you're a podcast fan. What is a show that you return to again and again?
Margaret Osler 37:33
I love A Simply Luxurious Life with Shannon Ables. Have you heard of her?
Katie Fogarty 37:40
No, I haven't.
Margaret Osler 37:41
Oh, she's fabulous. And I love you now too, now I'm listening to you. I didn't know of yours before, until we connected but I've been listening to yours now too. And I do love yours. But to give you someone different, A simply Luxurious Life. It's Shannon Ables and she talks all about, she's very much like me in that she tries to, you know, like, elevate her every day with small moments. And that's just so much my vibe. So I can so relate to her and I love, love, love to listen to her podcast.
Katie Fogarty 38:16
Well, thank you for that recommendation. I will definitely add that to the queue. I'm always in search of inspiration. I'm excited.
Margaret Osler 38:25
You'll love her. And she'll love you. So maybe you too can connect
Katie Fogarty 38:28
Nice! I will have to sleuth that out. Okay, how about this one? Finally, your one word answer to complete this sentence, as I age I feel:
Margaret Osler 38:40
Free.
Katie Fogarty 38:41
Free, that's so beautiful.
Margaret Osler 38:42
Definitely free.
Katie Fogarty 38:44
I love it.
Margaret Osler 38:44
Yeah and, and free because I've learned to let go, free because I am ready to age without fear, and free because I have let go of worrying about what other people think or say about me. And I used to, that used to be a big thing for me. And I really have let that go because I just know my value. I know my worth and I love who I am. And so if somebody doesn't like me, I'm really okay with that. It's okay. We can't please everyone and not everyone will understand us. So we can't worry about whether people do or don't. And so that, letting go of that, too is just so freeing. And I'm just so comfortable being who I am, I just feel completely free.
Katie Fogarty 39:31
Margaret, I had the wonderful Cindy Spiegel on my show. She wrote this fantastic book, which I don't know if you've read yet, called Microjoys.
Margaret Osler 39:39
No.
Katie Fogarty 39:40
And it's, it's a phenomenal book and on the podcast she said to me, I am not for everyone. And I love that. She knows who she is. She knows that she, certain people love and connect with her and that other people don't and that's okay.
Margaret Osler 39:55
Yes.
Katie Fogarty 39:55
You know the world is a big beautiful place full of so many amazing people. If you're for everyone, you're probably not for yourself.
Margaret Osler 40:04
Yes, that's so true. I love that.
Katie Fogarty 40:06
You know, I think a big learning, and getting to a certain age, you know, makes us realize that we are for ourselves. And so I love this conversation, I knew I was going to have such joy in connecting with you. And we actually went to 40 minutes which sped by. I could talk to you all day, but I will -
Margaret Osler 40:25
Oh my gosh, me too.
Katie Fogarty 40:26
- I will, I will hang out with you, I'll continue to hang out with you on Instagram.
Sounds great.
And just sort of soak in all of your, your wonderful, uplifting content. Thank you so much for being a guest today. I really appreciate it.
Margaret Osler 40:39
Thank you so much for inviting me, it was really a pleasure.
Katie Fogarty 40:43
And how can our listeners find you before we say goodbye?
Margaret Osler 40:47
So I just have my Instagram, which is, it's @aging_is_amazing. And then I have a second page, which is @aging_with_confidence. And that's where I sell my T shirts, which I have created to empower women to just be confident in who they are. And I just started this, I only have one T shirt design that I've sold, but I have another one that's almost ready to come out. So, but I do all of that through my other page the @aging_with_confidence so that I can keep the pages separate.
Katie Fogarty 41:27
Nice. I will put those all in the show notes. Thank you again, Margaret.
Margaret Osler 41:31
Thank you, Katie. Have a wonderful weekend!
Katie Fogarty 41:33
You too! This wraps A Certain Age, a show for women who are aging without apology. Before I say goodbye, a quick favor. I would love it if you could take five minutes to write an Apple podcast review. Did you learn something on today's show that inspired you? Do you feel more connected to a tribe of amazing midlife women? If so, please take five minutes to rate or review the show over on Apple podcasts because reviews really help the show grow. Special thanks to Michael Mancini who composed and produced our theme music. See you next time and until then, age boldly beauties!