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Hi, kids.

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(Laughter)

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I'm 71.

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(Applause)

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My husband is 76.

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My parents are in their late 90s,

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and Olivia, the dog, is 16.

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So let's talk about aging.

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Let me tell you how I feel

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when I see my wrinkles in the mirror

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and I realize that some parts of me have dropped

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and I can't find them down there.

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(Laughter)

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Mary Oliver says in one of her poems,

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"Tell me, what is it that you plan to do

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with your one wild and precious life?"

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Me, I intend to live passionately.

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When do we start aging?

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Society decides when we are old,

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usually around 65, when we get Medicare,

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but we really start aging at birth.

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We are aging right now,

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and we all experience it differently.

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We all feel younger than our real age,

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because the spirit never ages.

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I am still 17.

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Sophia Loren. Look at her.

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She says that everything you see

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she owes to spaghetti.

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I tried it and gained 10 pounds

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in the wrong places.

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But attitude, aging is also attitude and health.

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But my real mentor in this journey of aging

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is Olga Murray.

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This California girl at 60

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started working in Nepal to save young girls

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from domestic bondage.

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At 88, she has saved 12,000 girls,

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and she has changed the culture in the country.

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(Applause)

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Now it is illegal for fathers

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to sell their daughters into servitude.

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She has also founded orphanages

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and nutritional clinics.

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She is always happy

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and eternally young.

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What have I lost in the last decades?

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People, of course,

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places, and the boundless energy of my youth,

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and I'm beginning to lose independence,

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and that scares me.

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Ram Dass says that dependency hurts,

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but if you accept it, there is less suffering.

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After a very bad stroke,

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his ageless soul watches the changes

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in the body with tenderness,

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and he is grateful to the people who help him.

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What have I gained?

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Freedom: I don't have to prove anything anymore.

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I'm not stuck in the idea of who I was,

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who I want to be,

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or what other people expect me to be.

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I don't have to please men anymore,

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only animals.

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I keep telling my superego to back off

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and let me enjoy what I still have.

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My body may be falling apart,

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but my brain is not, yet.

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I love my brain.

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I feel lighter.

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I don't carry grudges, ambition, vanity,

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none of the deadly sins that are not even

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worth the trouble.

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It's great to let go.

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I should have started sooner.

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And I also feel softer

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because I'm not scared of being vulnerable.

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I don't see it as weakness anymore.

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And I've gained spirituality.

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I'm aware that before,

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death was in the neighborhood.

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Now, it's next door, or in my house.

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I try to live mindfully

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and be present in the moment.

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By the way, the Dalai Lama

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is someone who has aged beautifully,

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but who wants to be vegetarian and celibate?

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(Laughter)

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Meditation helps.

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(Video) Child: Ommm. Ommm. Ommm.

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Isabel Allende: Ommm. Ommm. There it is.

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And it's good to start early.

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You know, for a vain female like myself,

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it's very hard to age in this culture.

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Inside, I feel good, I feel charming, seductive, sexy.

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Nobody else sees that. (Laughter)

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I'm invisible.

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I want to be the center of attention.

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I hate to be invisible.

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(Laughter) (Applause)

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This is Grace Dammann.

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She has been in a wheelchair for six years

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after a terrible car accident.

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She says that there is nothing more sensual

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than a hot shower,

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that every drop of water

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is a blessing to the senses.

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She doesn't see herself as disabled.

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In her mind, she's still surfing in the ocean.

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Ethel Seiderman, a feisty, beloved activist

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in the place where I live in California.

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She wears red patent shoes,

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and her mantra is that one scarf is nice

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but two is better.

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She has been a widow for nine years,

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but she's not looking for another mate.

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She says that there is only a limited number

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of ways you can screw —

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well, she says it in another way —

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and she has tried them all.

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(Laughter)

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I, on the other hand,

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I still have erotic fantasies with Antonio Banderas —

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(Laughter) —

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and my poor husband has to put up with it.

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So how can I stay passionate?

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I cannot will myself to be passionate at 71.

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I have been training for some time,

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and when I feel flat and bored, I fake it.

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Attitude, attitude.

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How do I train? I train by saying yes

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to whatever comes my way:

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drama, comedy, tragedy,

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love, death, losses.

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Yes to life.

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And I train by trying to stay in love.

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It doesn't always work,

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but you cannot blame me for trying.

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And, on a final note,

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retirement in Spanish is jubilación.

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Jubilation. Celebration.

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We have paid our dues.

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We have contributed to society.

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Now it's our time, and it's a great time.

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Unless you are ill or very poor,

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you have choices.

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I have chosen to stay passionate,

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engaged with an open heart.

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I am working on it every day.

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Want to join me?

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Thank you.

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(Applause)

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June Cohen: So Isabel —
IA: Thank you.

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JC: First of all,

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I never like to presume to
speak for the TED community,

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but I would like to tell you that I have a feeling

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we can all agree that you are still charming,

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seductive and sexy. Yes?

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IA: Aww, thank you.
(Applause)

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JC: Hands down.
IA: No, it's makeup.

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Moderator: Now, would it be awkward

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if I asked you a follow-up question
about your erotic fantasies?

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IA: Oh, of course. About what?

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(Laughter)

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Moderator: About your erotic fantasies.
IA: With Antonio Banderas.

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Moderator: I was just wondering
if you have anything more to share.

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IA: Well, one of them is that — (Laughter)

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One of them is that I place a naked Antonio Banderas

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on a Mexican tortilla,

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I slather him with guacamole and salsa,

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I roll him up, and I eat him. (Laughter)

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Thank you.

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(Applause)