Karen’s Story: Happier Than Ever at 72

In her teens and 20s, Karen never felt like she was enough. Never pretty enough or smart enough. Never happy enough.

Now, at 72 going on 73, Karen feels happier than ever before. This is her story of how she reached where she is now—and became the mountain-climbing, meditating, Pilates instructor she is today.

I remember even when I was a kid, maybe 13-14, I would walk down the street and these guys would whistle, and I thought there was something wrong with me. Like my slip was showing or something.

I never thought I was pretty enough. I never thought I was smart enough. I never thought I was talented enough. It was probably by the time I was in my 20s, not a very happy person, though, nobody would know it. I was a really good actress.

But now, I've accepted my life and it's not difficult anymore. I feel free. I feel more myself than I've ever been. As a matter of fact, I've never been happier in my life.

Life just doesn't stop unless you're afraid, I guess. But life isn't over when you're 72. Oh, it's much better.

The truth is I feel very sexy. Not...I don't go around feeling sexy, but if I think about being sexy or I’m with somebody, I'm not ashamed of my body. I like my body.

Wow, to some things that make them beautiful because they are beautiful aesthetically, beautifully, classically beautiful. And depending upon what culture you're from, beauty is culturally defined. And I've been with women and men who aren't particularly beautiful, but they're beautiful, you know, because of who they are.

I think that people need to grasp their life.

I climbed a mountain in Peru. Not Machu Picchu, but it's called a Young Mountain, I think it's a little taller than Machu Picchu, a couple of months ago. And when I came home, I was like, I was top of my game, right? I mean, nothing. I was unstoppable.

And I'm walking down in front of...and I had to get my nails done, and I was running and in front of Starbucks I fall and break my wrist.

And there's a story about Sisyphus. And Sisyphus did something against the gods, gods only know. And what his sentence was he'd have to push a rock up a hill, and then at the very top of the hill the rock would go all the way down, and he would have to push it up again. And I fell, and it was true, Sisyphus came to my mind because in a way that's very much what life is all about.

We're pushing up the hill and then, and pushing up again, we're at the top of our game and put. And you can read about it in all, you know, what's happening to a lot of people in the news right now, top of the mountain and now, phew.

So, I don't know what tomorrow is gonna bring, but I know that I am in the moment. I'm really here in time, at 72 going on 73, and it's been joyous.