Elder Muse/Day 27: To Be In Awe

96-year-old Dot Fisher-Smith

“I don’t want to have just visited this world, so I am living as fully as I can with what I have. I want to be a child of wonder and astonishment.”

~Dot Fisher-Smith

“Reclaiming our sense of wonder in the everyday, ordinary moments of life” is something that often happens to us as we reach elderhood. Capturing that sense of awe that was a given for many of us when we were a child is now our precious gift in the latter years of life.

As we face aging limitations, challenges, and death comes closer, we turn to awe and wonder to nourish and enrich our lives. This beautiful elder soul in the video below touched me deeply. Her wisdom, sense of humor, flare and magnificent beauty in every sense of that word shines brightly. Take time to watch it!

“What gives you a sense of awe? You might imagine standing on a wide-open plain with a storm approaching, or holding the tiny finger of a newborn baby. That word, awe – the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your understanding of the world – is often associated with the extraordinary. But you don’t need remarkable circumstances to encounter awe.

You can find it every day, often in the humblest places. Staring up at a starry sky; looking at a sculpture that makes you shudder; listening to a medley of instruments joining into one complex, spine-tingling melody – those experiences remind us that we’re part of something that will exist long after us.

Luckily, we don’t need to wait until we stumble upon it – we can seek it out. Awe is all around us. With a little intentionality, we can reclaim our sense of wonder in the everyday, ordinary moments of life. Perhaps awe, while an ordinary response to the extraordinary, is also an extraordinary response to the ordinary.”

Featuring Dot Fisher-Smith.
Filmed in Ashland, Oregon, USA by Reflections of Life

---

31 days of Daily Elder Muse blog posts accessed from the unfolding of the day – not planned or scheduled. Yes, the Muse is back again during this powerful and challenging shift time on our planet. May these words, stories and images assist you to remember who you are….and where to place your attention. ~Gaye Abbott

If you don’t want to miss future posts simply sign up for the blog here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/

Please note that all blog posts can be seen on the HOME page by clicking on the Blog Archives tab.

Gaye Abbott, Wildly Free Elder, 08/10/24