Goldie Hawn has learned a lot in her 69 years.
The First Wives Club actress shares some valuable life lessons in Porter magazine's Summer Escape issue, on sale June 5. Whether she is discussing her 32-year relationship with Kurt Russell or the importance of raising her children and grandchildren to be mindful, Goldie seems to have it all figured it out. And yet, she has more questions than answers.
For example, while debating whether it's a better time to be a woman in Hollywood now than in the 1970s and 1980s, she says, "We have made some strides, there's no question. The relationship between men and women is definitely changing, but when you think that we only got to vote how many years ago? We're still dealing with these kinds of paradigms. If you look at racial issues—I'm reading Truman's autobiography at the moment—they were dealing with the very same situations that we're dealing with today. It's human nature to create these problems. Women are trying to find their own power inside relationships, too." Goldie, who hasn't starred in a film since 2002, continues, "You have to ask yourself, is there too much power? Do I hold too much power? Do I have more money than the other person?"
Recalling Patricia Arquette's Academy Awards acceptance speech about wage equality and how the film business has changed, Goldie says, "There is a lot of data to support what she said. A lot. Old ways die hard and I think women, in many ways, are still trying to figure out the pathway to being able to have certain things. I think that [Kate Hudson] deals with that on her level. She's not me. She sees things her way, although we agree on a lot of things. In terms of the business itself, you just have to be smart."
Speaking of her children, Goldie says she gave her blessing when Kate, Oliver Hudson and Wyatt Russell decided to follow in their famous parents' footsteps and make movies. "What you prepare your children for is to be able to deal with differences, obstacles, ways of handling uncertainty. The truth is, it doesn't matter what they would have chosen to do," the Overboard actress explains. "Every business changes."
Goldie—who poses with grandsons Wilder Hudson, 7, and Bodhi Hudson, 5—says it's important to be mindful. "The things we do early in life aren't always what we will do later. You just keep growing, embracing change, being present with what is. We are the sum total of our life experiences—that's what builds us; that's who we become. If we don't do any personal research or any personality and psychic excavation, we really aren't growing—we're only just existing. It is then that we become reactive. So we want to create more awareness in the classroom, more self-awareness and more awareness of others. We build empathy. We tell kids that they actually can help someone else. It gives them strength and purpose and connection with other humans," the MindUP program founder explains.
The Private Benjamin star adds that she doesn't worry about aging.
"Getting older is a fact of life. By living mindfully you understand that there are many transitions in life. You just go through them," Goldie tells Porter magazine. "But it's wonderful to know you're aging, because that means you're still on the planet, right? It's all about how you make it. It's all in your mind."
That attitude applies to her relationship, too.
"A lasting relationship isn't about marriage. It's about compatibility and communication. And you both need to want it to work. If one person does not want it to work, it isn't going to work," the former movie star says of Kurt, whom she began dating in 1983. "Intention is the key. It's also about not losing yourself in each other. Being together, two pillars holding up the house and the roof, and being different, not having to agree on everything, learning how to deal with not agreeing. Everything's a choice."