I tell people to be thankful that Madonna is showing that it's

Tracy Anderson, in her spirited defense of the enduring artist, proclaims: “I tell people to be thankful that Madonna is showing that it’s possible to be ageless—people should applaud and celebrate that. Anybody who criticises her is just jealous!” In these words resounds a lesson about the defiance of time, the courage to live without surrender, and the blindness of envy. To call someone ageless is not merely to speak of the body’s preservation, but of the soul’s refusal to bow before society’s chains, of the spirit’s will to remain vibrant, radiant, and alive.

From the days of the ancients, humanity has sought to defy the weight of years. Kings searched for the fountain of youth, philosophers taught that the soul grows wiser even as the body wearies, and poets sang of those who remained forever young in song and legend. Madonna, in the modern age, has become a living embodiment of this timeless pursuit. She is not bound by age, nor silenced by critics who would rather she dim her flame to make themselves comfortable. Instead, she dances still, proving that life itself is a stage where passion need not fade, no matter how many years are counted.

Anderson urges us to be thankful, to see in Madonna not a threat but a symbol of possibility. For when one person dares to rise above the ordinary expectations, they do not only elevate themselves—they open the path for others to follow. The jealous see only what they cannot bear within themselves; the grateful see the horizon widened, the limitations of age shattered, the future made more radiant. This is why she says, “applaud and celebrate.” To celebrate another’s victory over time is to celebrate our own potential to do the same.

History gives us many examples of such defiance. Consider the life of Sophia, Queen of Spain in the 20th century, who at an age when others expected silence, continued to serve, speak, and inspire with dignity and strength. Or recall Michelangelo, who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel well into his sixties, when most would have laid down their tools. These figures, like Madonna, remind us that the boundaries of age are not chains, but illusions, broken by those who continue to create, to inspire, to live with ferocity.

At the heart of Anderson’s words lies a confrontation with envy. Envy is the thief of joy, the shadow that mocks achievement and tries to diminish it by bitterness. When people criticize Madonna for her agelessness, it is not her that they strike at, but themselves, wounded by their own fear of decline, their own refusal to live boldly. The wise do not scorn such courage—they honor it. They recognize that every soul who stretches the limits of what is possible lifts the entire human spirit a little higher.

The lesson for us is clear: do not shrink in the face of years, and do not let envy bind your heart when others shine. Instead, let their strength remind you of your own. Be thankful for those who break barriers, for they are guides showing us what is possible. Celebrate them, not because they are perfect, but because they are proof that the human spirit is stronger than time, stronger than convention, stronger than fear.

In practice, this means rejecting the quiet voice of limitation that whispers, “You are too old, too late, too tired.” Replace it with a daily celebration of your own vitality. Pursue art, movement, knowledge, and joy as if the years are not a cage but a ladder. When you see others who embody this spirit, do not dismiss them—learn from them, applaud them, and let their courage ignite your own.

Thus, Anderson’s words echo across generations: to be ageless is not merely to defy the body’s decline, but to live with gratitude, celebration, and courage. The envious wither in their bitterness, but the thankful rise, applauding the eternal flame wherever it burns, and carrying that fire within themselves until their last breath.