As Spring energy here in the Northern hemisphere is starting to flow, I am drawn back to what had me originally creating the Wildly Free Elder website and community during the first lock down of the pandemic.
An inspiration was emerging in me to inspire aging in a more accepting way unique to each individual with no pre-conceived idea of what we are supposed to be like at any certain set age.
Instead to live life fully, and as Jenny says in the video below – “open to that part of you that has been shut down for so long out of necessity. Be conscious of the potential of life and live as fully as you are able to. Be more pro-active – now you are free!”
Here is the re-post from June 4, 2020…..
A FEW WORDS ON AGING
The natural evolution of an embodied human is to change with each year we are here. Not just physically, but within the heart of our emotions and in the deepest energetic recesses of our mind, thinking and creative potential.
For some this is a very conscious process. An unfolding of acceptance, transparency, trust and surrender revealing our life path. Every year brings new opportunities and awareness.
Some accept the societal story and common narrative of aging, or impulsively seek the next “anti-aging” supplement or practice which denies what is a natural process for all living beings.
The continuum of birth to death reveals a pathway uniquely our own. No one else has our challenges, experiences, opportunities and possibilities.
For some this is a short spectrum and filled with challenges that can’t simply be overcome with facing them head on. Acceptance of disabilities, dis-ease and even death are at the forefront during these final embodied years.
Impermanence beckons us from everywhere. We see it in nature, our friends and loved ones, the animals special to us and at every turn of life. Everything ages and dies within the cycles and rhythms of life here on Earth.
What our unique path will be is simply a matter of perception and is revealed in our unfolding life moments. That we will transition in death at some point is inevitable.
Many of us have been blessed with more embodied life moments to dig deep and find our passions buried beneath complacency, fixed identities that do not honor the wild soul inside, and ungrounded fears. Free of the pressures and stresses of youth and mid-life we are invited into the stage of elderhood.
Elder saturated in the experiences, wisdom and innate sense of belonging, woven with an unrelenting sense of humor that surfaces in a multitude of moments during our days no matter what chronological age we are.
Being an Elder is not defined by age, but rather Elders are recognized because they have earned the respect of their community through wisdom and actions or their teachings; through the vibrancy that radiates out from their presence and the unique artistry that only they can bring into the world.
Let us return to acknowledging elders in the fullest sense of the powerful presence they can be and are becoming. Respecting the life artistry that has been necessary to bring them to where they are today.
As we ripen into our aging beauty may we be heard, seen and respected for what we have to offer. May we trust and respect our own becoming with grace, curiosity and surrender.…and a strong dose of humor!
The time is now to free yourself into the wildness of elderhood. To ground who you are and what you have to bring into the very center of your being in spite of the challenges, or better yet because of the challenges!
You have stories to tell, wisdom to share and artistry to impart.
Don’t die now….before you die!
“Finally I have the excuse to be poorly mannered and poorly memoried.”
Jenny Jackson
“I recently read…
“Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” – Samuel Ullman
We all age – it is the normal process of living. But rather than being apprehensive about our aging bodies, let’s celebrate our growing perspective. Rather than worrying about our changing relationships, let’s embrace the opportunity to make new friends with people who share our interests. We must never lose the desire to do the things we truly love, because it is the saying no to life that ages us.
It’s not about aging. It’s about living.”
Filmed in Hermanus, South Africa. by Green Renaissance
Featuring Jenny Jackson.
This video was the first I encountered filmed by Green Renaissance and I placed it at the end of the very first blog post for the Wildly Free Elder website on June 4, 2020. It still makes me smile and is a reminder to live life wildly free!
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You can find ALL of the 31-Days of Joy & Laughter Project posts in the archives here: http://wildlyfreeelder.com/2021/12/
Gaye Abbott, Natural Passages Consulting, 2/23/22. Please feel free to share this post and link to WildlyFreeElder
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