WILDLY FREE ELDER
The Artistry of Aging
You Only Die Once, But You Live Every Day
Photo by Gaye Abbott, July 2021/Sunrise Blue Ridge Mountains NC
“Elemental Musings” offers daily postings, for an undetermined amount of time, by a nature lover and elder in transition in the Blue Ridge Mountain area of North Western N. Carolina.
We are composed of all elements that make up this amazing Universe. How can we ever think we are separate.
The early morning this photo was taken I was mesmerized by the ever changing colors in the sky, the shifting cloud formations, and the miracle that I was present in these very moments to be part of it. A dance of life!
Have you ever thought about quality of life moments versus years lived?
For some it is when death touches us that we allow ourselves to contemplate, and come closer to, the relationship with our own potential death and that of our loved ones. The unique choices we will make when embodied time is drawing to a close.
“Death is giving us a gift by teaching us to love in the moment.”
In these precious moments you are reading this post, and perhaps watching the beautiful video of this nurse who is at last exploring the territory of her feelings about fully living every day and embracing the wholeness of life and who she is.
A grand unique life dance that only we know the steps to.
Post by Gaye Abbott, 7/26/21, Natural Passages Consulting.
We ask that you reference Wildly Free Elder if you wish to pass this on…and thank you if you do!
Two weeks ago a friend, having just arrived at a nearby Liver Care Center, said to her son “Let me go.” The staff had just announced their plans to move her breathing to a ventilator. Eminent death hadn’t been in her plan just days before but (to me) she knew where that line was for her that the nurse spoke of. May I exhibit that level of courage and consciousness when I arrive at that pre-determined moment.
Yesterday another friend shared the story of her sister-in-law, in a local ICU, squeezing her hand and saying “Let me go.” This person had quality of life specifics written in their physician directives and still the medical model, unable to quantify quality of life specifics, was ready to continue working toward “reversing” the four main things that landed her in ICU. Her family, felt conflicted in the binary choices of prolonging life or offering comfort. Like the nurse indicated prolonging life may really be prolonging death.
I saw this, prolonging death, manifest in the final years of my Father’s life, however as he saw it his life was being prolonged. My lesson there … only the individual knows their own perspective.
Letting others know what’s important is key and is up for me this week as I step in, by saying YES, to a friend’s request to hold POA, Medical POA and act as guardian for her estate when needed. No little, YES.
I have no idea why I’m telling you this except that it’s what I’m present to after receiving your POST today and writing is an opportunity to connect with you. My hat’s off to you picking up and moving … one day that’ll be me too, I feel it in my bones.
All the best, Julie Wylie Somatic Educator http://www.JulieAnnWylie.com Find me on FACEBOOK
Poetry As A Tool For Wellness Facilitator I Healing Trauma Facilitator I Nia Technique 1st° Black Belt Teacher I Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructor I Truth Be Told Volunteer Facilitator I Toastmasters CC, CL
On my journey toward building an internal & supporting an external culture of Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion, it’s with respect to this area’s Elders (past, present and emerging), that I acknowledge the stewards of the unyielded land’s of the Tonkawa, Comanche and Lipan Apache Country in Central, TX, North America, where I live, learn and serve the greater good.
Beloved Julie – This beautiful and heart centered writing touched me deeply. Death has moved in and out of my life often during the 30 years of being in the medical/health domains; my mother dying suddenly when I was 14; a husband tragically dying of a heart attack at age 42 in front of my then 7 year old son; the easy passing of my father in his sleep at age 89; and being a hospice volunteer for a couple of years when I lived in Austin. I am aware that death has touched you personally as well. It is within those unique moments of choice that some of us are given – either for ourselves or a loved one – that we realize how deeply personal this transition is. So many lessons in letting go…. Know you are always welcome to come visit me in this gorgeous temperate rain forest area of the Blue Ridge Mountains. “Picking up and moving” is another opportunity for transformation and a deeper understanding of the preciousness of life. I feel blessed by your presence and connection with me. Always Love, Gaye