WILDLY FREE ELDER
The Artistry of Aging
Being Simply Beautiful
The Cradle of Forest Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina
Over this last year of dramatic shifts and changes in our lives many of us have been drawn to reconsider and reflect on what we most value in life. I for one sold, gave away and donated almost all that I owned the first part of this year and experienced the reciprocal flow of a gift economy where everyone receives and gives. In turn I received the freedom of not being defined, or defining myself, by my possessions.
What if we as elders surrender enough to realize the potential of “being simply beautiful”. A space of being where we are not holding ourselves by what we have, but for how we are in any given moment. This does not mean you have to give everything away, but it does mean you live from a spaciousness of kindness and reciprocity.
This humble man in South Africa reminds us of the beauty in living from simplicity and the importance of being kind to others and connecting in transparent and supportive friendship with all living beings. As he says at the end of this video, in South Africa there is the philosophy of Umbutu – I am because we are.
Part of the wisdom we have as elders is to not only pass on this way of being by our example, but to embody it fully. This is where we may find ourselves wildly free….
If you wish to share this post please reference Wildly Free Elder website for the post and Green Renaissance for the video. Thank You!