When Omega Institute co-founder and bestselling author Elizabeth Lesser sat down with Oprah to tape an interview for "Super Soul Sunday," it was the eve of Oprah's 60th birthday. As the two walked to their chairs underneath the towering oaks in Oprah's backyard, they talked about this milestone age. Lesser, now 61, vividly remembers her initial reaction to turning 60 and, upon sitting down for the interview, shares her personal thoughts about aging.
"Sixty's the first age that feels kind of old," she tells Oprah. "When I turned 50, it didn't feel that way."
"At all," Oprah agrees.
"I definitely feel the gravitas of age," Lesser continues. "But... I also feel free. More free."
This sense of freedom is something Oprah hopes for, too. "That is what I wish for myself. I wish for the freedom of other people's expectations," she says. "But also, I would agree -- I feel that it is significant. Worthy of sitting with it and acknowledging it and being with it."
For many people, though, the wisdom of turning 60 gets lost in the idea of seeming "old," as Lesser has witnessed firsthand. As she tells Oprah, she has been asked probing questions such as, "Do your grandchildren call you 'Grandma'?" and "Do you tell people you're 60?" and "Do you feel like an elder?" For Lesser, there's nothing wrong with responding "yes" to any of those questions.
"I want to get comfortable with [saying], 'Yeah, I'm an elder," she says. "I feel more and more like my role is to be there for people coming up."
Elizabeth Lesser's full interview with Oprah airs on "Super Soul Sunday" this Sunday, April 27, at 11 a.m. ET on OWN, during which it also streams worldwide on Oprah.com, Facebook.com/owntv and Facebook.com/supersoulsunday.
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