The 100 Day Project: Week 3

I Discover Wrinkles

I’ve reached the 21 day mark, the number of days research shows it takes to develop a new habit. I’m also about to reach the 25 day mark which means I’ll be a quarter of the way through this project! Things are really rolling along... Cue scratched record sound effect -

"Hold up! What are THESE?!"

“These” are wrinkles, specifically furrow marks upon my brow. This project has me looking at my face on a daily basis and I’m beginning to see the aging process play out up close and personal. Yes, I know I’ll age and die someday, but these are concepts I’ve usually considered in the abstract, and rarely. These wrinkles aren’t a concept; they’re very real and (insert epic Game of Thrones voiceover) more are coming...

This week’s discovery has me thinking about my own mortality and how I’ve spent much of my life wishing to change things about my appearance. I’d never considered the day when I would want to preserve my looks. Suddenly there are new questions racing around my head:

How will my face change as I age? What will my quality of life be like when I grow old? How will I handle the aging process? Will I age gracefully or begrudgingly? Will I be happy?...

It’s a lot to take in and I’m a person prone to anxiety. With time I’ve learned some techniques for dealing with stress though. So I’m taking a deep breath and reviewing what my options are in “the now.” I can’t stop the progression of time upon my face or body but I can take small steps each day to live a happy, healthy life and a life that is fulfilling. I’m not going to age 20 years in a day. Age is an accumulation of days. And a day is something much less menacing to confront than decades.

The 100 day project is turning out to be a nice little metaphor for approaching life in general. It’s the small every day acts that lead to something grander and greater than the sum of its parts.

My favourite mask this week is the Ruth Bader Ginsburg TIME magazine cover, fitting don’t you think? I plan to be a tiny little badass too, but smile more ;)

Follow me on Instagram to see the #100masks project as it develops day by day @LydiaMakepeace