WILDLY FREE ELDER
The Artistry of Aging
The Sacred Rhythm of Life
Cowee Mountain on the Blue Ridge Parkway on September 10, 2026/Photography by Anthony Crowley/”The Galactic Core of the Milky Way rising gloriously over late summer wildflowers and Blue Ridge Mountains.”
Nothing Wants to Suffer
by Linda Hogan
“Nothing wants to suffer. Not the wind as it scrapes itself against the cliff. Not the cliff.
being eaten, slowly, by the sea. The earth does not want to suffer the rough tread of those who do not notice it.
The trees do not want to suffer the axe, nor see their sisters felled by root rot, mildew, rust.
The coyote in its den. The puma stalking its prey. These, too, want ease and a tender animal in the mouth
to take their hunger. An offering, one hopes, made quickly and without much suffering.
The chair mourns an angry sitter. The lamp a scalded moth. The table a weight of years of argument.
We know this, though we forget.
Not the shark nor the tiger, fanged as they are. Nor the worm, content in its windowless world.
of soil and stone. Not the stone, resting in its riverbed. The riverbed gazing up at the stars.
Least of all the stars, ensconced in their canopy, looking down on all of us – their offspring –
scattered so far beyond reach. “
(Taken from: The Wonder of Small Things, Poems of Peace & Renewal)
Perceiving everything as alive and capable of feelings is a recognition that everything within the Earth – human and more-than-human – is animate, alive, and sacred. Imagine if you embodied this. In a framework that is rooted in the values of interconnectedness, kinship, reciprocity, compassion, and a deep reverence for all beings.
An ancestral memory we all carry within us, regardless of our unique individuality. A much needed shared inheritance and intelligence for human beings to remember as a framework for engaging with the Earth at this critical time.
An awareness that feels alive versus anthropomorphic in nature to me. I have often talked to the rivers, oceans, trees, rocks, mountains, birds and bees…even my plants. If one is quiet and still enough you may feel and hear their response back to you deep within the core of your being. How could you not as you are all of that.
Recognizing that everything is alive and has feelings means you simply can’t destroy or neglect what is an essential part of the interconnected web of life.
What a different world we would inhabit if this ancient knowing became alive in us once again. If we remembered. I often wonder what it would take to return. Perhaps if enough of us remembered, and embodied this way of being back into our everyday life – maybe only a little bit at a time – it would expand awareness and……
About 20 years ago or more now I traveled to the Big Island of Hawaii. It had always been my dream to swim with the dolphins. I brought this intention with me to a retreat that I was attending on the Hilo side of Hawaii. On the first morning of the retreat the facilitator and I woke up very early and were drawn to go to the beach to swim before the beginning of the day. Driving to a nearby beach, where we were told by the locals that the dolphins came to play, we carefully negotiated our way down the cliff side as first light broke across the water.
The waves were daunting and quite a barrier to get past, but our intentions were strong to be in the sea to start our day. Once past the breakers, I stopped to tread water closing my eyes and asking for the dolphins to come to us. My intention was so strong that I could feel the interconnection.
Within 5 minutes, way far in the distance it seemed, I saw movement. My eyes were riveted on this movement attempting to discern exactly what was moving towards us…until I realized that it was them – an entire pod of dolphins in fact – and they were moving towards us very quickly leaping up in the air as if to greet us and welcome us back into the fold.
At this point there were tears streaming down my face as they came to us and made us one of their pod. As we played together on their terms I wished that I could make the sound that they did in response to their seemingly absolute delight at being in our presence. They touched us with their love, their sense of play, and their wisdom – and confirmed my belief that all forms of life are intimately interconnected.
As my companion made her way to shore telling me that it was time to go back, there was a deep reluctance to part from these creatures of the sea. As if they knew that it was time the pod distanced themselves a little from me as if to make it easier for me to leave. As I emerged from the sea the feeling of having been “made love to” permeated every fiber of my being.
Climbing the cliffside I found that my friend had gone to the car already – but I had one more thing to do before leaving. Standing on the cliff ledge I closed my eyes, held my hands at my heart, and thanked these magnificent beings for coming to be with me. As I opened my eyes the entire pod was in a “V” formation in the ocean before me as if to say goodbye and thank me for engaging with them!
Needless to say this remains a peak experience of my life. An experience that opened my heart and reminded me that all life is sentient and we are simply a part of the family of all living beings….
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Gaye Abbott, Wildly Free Elder, 09/15/2026