WILDLY FREE ELDER
The Artistry of Aging
Journey Into The Unknown
Blue Ridge Mountain Rainbow/Photography by Gaye Abbott
“It may be when we no longer know which way to go we have come to our real journey.” ~Wendell Berry
From a very young age I cared for other people. That calling took up most of my life until I reached the elder stage of life. Now I take care of animals. They are so much easier. Yet it is still a care taking pattern.
In the last few months I seem to have entered a state of being guided to shift my perspective on purpose. We all know about the shifting we must do as daily life presents its pleasures and perils – but this feels different. It calls for trust and courage to step off the cliff of monotonous and sometimes damaging patterns and live more fully.
A case in point. At first I was concerned that I couldn’t seem to write anything of substance. At times I felt guilty because I wasn’t producing. What was wrong with me?
When one month went by, then two, and then three I was forced to let go and navigate a new territory of the unknown where I seemed to be blocked from writing anything that moved me. Something I have done easily for decades in blogs, self published books, articles, and other writing endeavors.
I would start a post and then wither in the middle not feeling inspired or even guided as I usually was. Nothing felt authentic or coming from spaciousness or joy versus obligation. Thus there are many posts started in draft form but none published. A literary compost heap.
As we are all unique the stories that evolve from this unknown territory are like original art pieces if we can freely open our creative imagination. As Wendell Berry says in the quote above it is at this stage that we may have come to our “real” journey.
A journey where we lose the inhibitions of cultural/self expectation and gain a wider perspective of who we are now. Not censored nor lost in the miasma of our past or even our present challenges, but fresh and free of expectations. The life moments we have left to live dwell in the unknown.
I am finding that instead of focusing on how much time there is left to live, or posts to write, the moment to moment journey into the unknown can be a freeing force if I pay attention and stay open.
Like the tornado in Kansas that lifted the house up that Dorothy was in and dropped it, her and her dog Toto into an entirely new world of cowardly lions, creaky tin men, brainless scarecrows, little people, wicked and good witches, ruby slippers, yellow brick roads, flying monkeys, Emerald cities, horses of a different color, and a Wizard.
Of course we all remember that the “home” that Dorothy sought was always inside of her. Yet she needed to trust she would find “it” even though she did not know which way to go. What an adventure she had and at the same time found out more about who she was.
I don’t know about you, but I seem to have no reference for the territory that is opening up to explore right now. Feeling at the cliffs edge but being held back by, and caught in, the comfort and seeming security of what I have thought my life and being to be. It is no longer solid and rooted but instead watery, expansive and changeable.
What is this new story that is waiting to unfold itself? Can we fully embody, explore and trust these moments of our lives before our final sunset or in my case sunrise?
I am finding my way….
“We spend so much of life hoping that one day we’ll finally know exactly what we’re doing. That we’ll arrive at some clear, tidy answer. But perhaps part of being human is learning to live gently inside the not knowing.
There are seasons when life asks us to look honestly at ourselves, at the patterns we’ve repeated, the stories we’ve carried, and the places where we’ve become a little too lost in our own world. It can be uncomfortable work, but it can also open the door to new perspective, at any age.
Maybe wisdom is not about having all the answers. Maybe it is simply about staying open, paying attention, and asking how best to use the time we have. For ourselves, for each other, and for the small part we each play in the bigger whole.“
Filmed in Mossel Bay, South Africa by Reflections of Life
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Gaye Abbott, Wildly Free Elder, 05/24/2026
WILDLY FREE ELDER 
Hi Gaye: I really loved this post.
It totally resonated with me. I am 76 years old and experiencing the same questioning and wonder about what is next for me. What should I be doing that will best serve the days I have left before my last sunset. How should I be spending my moments, my energy, my knowledge, skills etc. that will best serve humanity as well as my need for fulfillment. I am completely grateful for all that I am and all I have been through to get to this place. The question is…now what?
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