Would you imagine yourself to be a top model at the age of 80? I would think it didn’t occur to Daphne Selfe either until it actually happened to her.  And what fun she says she is having doing that.

There is no doubt that at 80 Daphne looks great. And one doesn’t even have to say, great for her age. She just looks good. No botox or plastic surgery helped this look along. Those great looks have opened up a career in modeling spanning 60 years.

She works quite hard at it though. She has increased her exercise regime, watches her diet and abstains from drinking.  Besides that she is willing and enthusiastic to take part and try new things. Photoshoots, catwalks, acting in videos is all in a days work and she’s loving the variety of it.

What makes this woman go out there still actively participating in work and life in general?

I go to meetings at the local U3A (University of the third age) and I see younger people than 80 happy to do coffee with friends, play a bit of bridge and walk a little. And maybe read a book for the book club.

Am I the only one seeing a difference in quality of life here?  Of course it’s not for everybody to go and pose in front of a camera or walk along a stage showing off clothes.

But that’s not the point. It’s not what we do, but whether we do anything at all. Are we giving up on life if we hide away doing nothing much in terms of growth of our intellect or life experiences?

I see my friend in Cape Town having started her self-catering accommodation business when everybody else was retiring, still working flat out and facing the ongoing stress of having a business in these hard times.

But she’s also loving the successes. She enjoys her guests, even the ones who are super demanding. She’s constantly thinking about how to improve her marketing efforts and what else needs doing to make the business even better.

With other words, she’s full of life.

I see the folk at the U3A and they spend ten minutes complaining about some absolutely insignificant thing in their life such as not finding the right butter at their shop, the weather or how far away the post office is now.  Tiny problems are taking on the appearance of mammoth tsunamic-sized disasters.

Do we really prefer a life of mindless drift? Maybe life has beaten us into submission and we prefer ‘no life’ to having to face constant stressful issues and hassles. Very possible.

One thing is certain though, Daphne Selfe looks radiant and is having fun, while earning a nice little amount of money as a bonus on top of it all. It’s great to see that there are other options available to one when one is older.  It’s up to us to go for them.