WILDLY FREE ELDER
The Artistry of Aging
DAY 26: Acceptance With Compassion
Sunrise Blue Ridge Mountains, 12/26/21, Western N. Carolina, Photo by Gaye Abbott
“When you discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.”
Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen
This last week of the year has always held a sacred fascination for me. Filled with endings and beginnings I have always wanted to take it as a self directed personal retreat, and so I have. Although I was tempted to end these posts for the year guidance has me opening to the possibility of taking you along on the journey with me.
As I witnessed the sunrise this morning, changing in every moment, it felt like the reality of what it is to be embodied as human.
From a wider perspective, accepting life in all its pain, imperfection and beauty our stress and anxiety has the potential to shift us from expectations of how our life should be to acceptance of what is happening now. This creates a spaciousness for curiosity about what might happen next.
Accepting the unfolding of life and embracing reality with gratitude. Being aware of the possibilities and opportunities that emerge.
I consistently find this easier said than practiced in any given moment.
Reflecting back on the struggles, pain and loss in my own life I realize that without them I would not be who I am today with compassion, generosity of heart and an unquenchable curiosity about and for life. This somehow makes it easier to have a wider perspective on the challenges I, and all of us, face now.
The smell of cinnamon and baking apples permeates my small home sanctuary in this moment. Do I stop writing for some deep breaths of this ambrosia or simply go on thinking about what I will write next. One action holds this moment as sacred and filled with extraordinary sensual pleasure, the other has that experience recede in the background while I plunge on with writing this post.
What did I just do in the moments after writing that last paragraph? I chose “being” over “doing”, savoring the sweet smells coming from the baking apples, opening the oven door to take a look – not quite done yet, walking around my small space and looking out all of the windows to see the emerging day from many perspectives….and then taking the beautiful apples filled with cinnamon, butter, raisins and nuts out of the oven when done and savoring each textured and nuanced bite of one single apple draped with coconut yogurt.
Finishing this post before I indulged the nourishment of my body and soul would not have brought the joy I found in those moments. In fact I am still enjoying those moments as I end here….
About 31 Days of Joy & Laughter Project:
As elders with a long life behind us and not as much embodied life before us, and as humans on the planet Earth at this time, we are being faced with incredible challenges that compete to take our attention.
A couple of days ago I realized I no longer choose to have my attention taken by the fear, doom and gloom broadcast daily, whether on our smart phones news feed or while talking to others. I am weary of it all and need a higher vibration energy bath!.
It is not that I don’t want to know what is happening in the world, but instead the question I am posing to myself, and to you, every day is – where do we want to place our attention? We most always have a choice.
For the month of December I am placing attention on joy, laughter, creativity and acts of kindness as a experiment to see what unfolds. Seeking out and being aware of moments of joy sometimes hidden in the deep pockets and lining of each and every day that seem to get passed over without even looking back. They are always there.
Each day in December you will find a small nugget of joy, humor, creativity or small act of kindness that found me and pulled my attention which will be posted here. I invite you to join me and share your experiences and what you noticed so that we may spread it around! (Please use the “Comment” section below).
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You can also find all of the posts in the archives here: http://wildlyfreeelder.com/2021/12/
Gaye Abbott, Natural Passages Consulting, 12/26/21. Please feel free to share this post and link to WildlyFreeElder