The secrets to aging well

Aging is inevitable. When mom-preneur and blogger Grace Barbers Baja launched “Gatherings by Grace,” she envisioned to advance the quality of events and discourse in this country and to campaign for deeper, more genuine conversations or what she called curiosity conversations, she chose to discuss the secrets to aging well.

In her initial salvo held at the Owners Lounge of the Raffles Residences in Makati, she invited five women she admired to share

thoughts about aging in this youthobsessed world—multi-media journalist Karen Davila, fashion entrepreneur Joanna Preysler Francisco, lifestyle journalist Cat Juan-Ledesma, dermatologist Dr. Aivee Aguilar-Teo, and chef Happy Ongpauco-Tiu.

It was a candid, refreshing conversation, maybe even a tell-all, as it turned out.

“I’m happy that the title of this talk is ‘Aging Well,’ and not reversing aging or stopping aging because it’s inevitable,” said Juan-Ledesma, 40.

“I talk about aging every day, but I don’t want to talk about treatments here,” said Aguilar-Teo, 48.

“With me, I think, it’s all about my name, it’s being happy,” said Ongpauco-Tiu, 44.

“My mom used to tell me,” added Davila, 48, “beautiful women are a dime a dozen, and it will go,” referring to physical beauty. “And I am telling you it really will go. So most of my life has been invested really in not being a waste of space. When you are relevant and purposeful, you become beautiful.”

“A lot of it has to do with the wisdom that comes with aging, meaning you get rid of a lot of non-essentials in your life, whether things or people that don’t ‘spark joy,’ said Presyler-Francisco, 50.

Scan the QR code to join in on the conversation or turn to page D1.