Blue Ridge Mountains, Western North Carolina/Photography by Gaye Abbott
Usually there is a late afternoon walk when I am caring for Reese and her kitty sister Lizzie. However today I decided that we would eat dinner first and then take a gloaming walk on the land tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains.
This time of day is magical when low light is present in the evening as the sun sets. Soon we will start seeing fireflies twinkling in the gloaming. But not quite yet. Instead ones attention is taken to the intense lush green from millions of trees all in Spring leaf.
As soon as we started out on our walk I knew that this would be different from our more vigorous walk in the morning. There was a different energy in our natural surroundings and within Reese herself.
A slower pace, more intense exploring of one single smell, rustle in the bushes, or piece of earth. A going off the paved driveway down to a creek and into areas that were not visited in the morning. Even a purposeful but gentle disregard of how I was trying to guide her back home.
It was almost like she was testing me to see if I would surrender into the moment. Breathe in the fresh tree air, listen to the birds settling in for the night, simply stand in front of a tree and commune. Allowing the peaceful surroundings to paint me with the color NOW. – this very moment. Trust.
Reese, Teacher & Friend/Photography by Gaye Abbott
But it took me a while to let go of my agenda. To get up and down the steep pathway making certain she followed me back up to home base and didn’t wander off too far in bear, wild turkey and other critters country.
It was like there was an internal battle of agenda versus simply being present. Trusting that this gentle soul of a doggie would follow me when she was ready to do so.
Many stops along the way where the agenda would rear its ugly head and I would call out to her to “come Reese”……disregarding the immersion in scents, sounds, movement and simply being still for moments in time that she was teaching me about.
The shift happened in one long exhalation where we locked eyes and I surrendered. Everything expanded and at the same time became still.
Time ceased to exist. We were engaged in the most sacred moments of simply being. Senses were enhanced and the agenda fell away all at once.
I realized the lessons from Reese on this evening walk were all about inhabiting the moments fully with every fiber of my being. Trusting in the unfolding moment to moment with all senses open and aligning with vibrant aliveness.
Thank you sweet doggie Reese. You are a wise teacher….
Writing Space for “Lessons From Reese”/Photography by Gaye Abbott
As I wind my way through recovery and regeneration from a low back injury incurred last year I realize I am on a powerful, and at times challenging, journey towards trusting my bodies ability to not only recover fully but to be stronger, more flexible and resilient than it was before the injury.
As a matter of fact everything in our body is regenerating constantly from skin and organs to bones. Maybe not at the same rate it did when we were younger, but it does uniquely for each person based on many factors such as age, food and lifestyle choices.
Just as we have the power to heal ourselves we also have the power to heal and regenerate the earth. As in the short animated film below we, the “Holy Earth Surface Beings”, belong and are an integral part of this planet we call home.
Indigenous nations maintained balance and harmony with their environment for they knew that their lives depended upon that regenerative relationship being nurtured, respected, connected and understood from a holistic perspective.
A way of living in this world by attending to whole ecosystems and whole communities. Knowing that the root of regeneration is within us.
“The film explores the origins of regenerative agriculture, offering a story that is both new and ancient in its roots. Co-written and narrated by Lyla June Johnston, an Indigenous public speaker, artist, scholar, and community organizer, the film takes a holistic approach to regenerative stewardship, expanding the idea of regeneration beyond the principles popularized in the relatively young regenerative agriculture movement.
This educational, animated short film is designed to inspire individuals to take action around regenerative agriculture and climate change. Audiences are left to answer one of the most pressing questions of our time: if we expand the regenerative mindset beyond farming, what else is possible?
ABOUT KTG Kiss the Ground is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has become a leading voice in bringing awareness to regeneration through its storytelling, education, and advocacy of regenerative agriculture and soil health.
In ending it felt right to leave you, the reader, with the experience of being one with the earth elements in this stunning music video. Consciously connecting and opening in this way provides grounding for embodying the energy of regeneration and connection.
What would it be like if we told the truth of what it is like to fully be alive? The bare honest truth in any given moment. Not only to ourselves but to others who ask the question, “how are you today?”
Perhaps not all the time, but more often than we do now.
I find that the deepest friendships I have are with those who are transparent about their life experience in a sensitive and perceptive way. It not only allows me to know them in all their beauty and at times pain, confusion and sadness of what they may be feeling, but it also gives me permission to do the same with them.
It is the crack in our facades where the light of reality of “being” alive gets in. Living in a dance between “joy and sorrow, dark and light, bitter and sweet”.
Every time we shut down on our moment to moment being and awareness we are hiding our wholeness . To fit in? Belong? Not seem fragile and vulnerable? For survival? To be loved and admired? Fear that we will burden someone? And it goes on….
Yet it is from this ever changing flow of emotions and deep longing through our life experiences that we can perceive the “insane beauty” of life going on constantly around ….and within us.
To be fully present with each other in any given moment is the greatest gift we can give and receive.
In the video below Author Susan Cain explores how being attuned to the “bittersweetness” of life — and being fully present for both the happy times and the sad times — helps us navigate love and loss and connect to the “insane beauty” of the world.
To keep our hearts open is probably the most urgent responsibility you have as you get older.
As an adult when was the last time you played? No, I don’t mean a card game or backgammon. I mean a lost in time spontaneous, noncompetitive activity stimulating unbelievable energy, excitement, and joy.
Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.—John Muir
BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS POST RAIN STORM, WESTERN N. CAROLINA (Photo by Gaye Abbott 4/2023)
The occasions in which I took myself way too seriously or I was on the edge of an insightful idea trying to break through and allowed myself to play some interesting things happened. By doing something as carefree as doodling—taking out a pencil and a blank sheet of paper, making squiggly lines all over the page, no format, design or pattern—thereby freeing thoughts, tension and stress; I actually became more functional. After the brief respite in apparent idleness, I experienced clarity, lucidity, and became a vessel for profound information—even I was surprised. Everything came to me as needed. The doodling relaxed the nervous system, turning off the mind chatter and temporarily releasing the brain circuitry for ideas to flow. It was like unclogging a sink.
I’m not sure when I lost the ability to lapse into unsolicited moments of imagination and intuition but in the past few years I’ve reclaimed the skill of “play.” I’m healthier, happier, and more inclined to truly connect with others as the result of that decision. When I spent a year with Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way a couple of decades ago I don’t think I realized the impact it would have as a place holder for ongoing transformation in my life. One of the practices was “Morning Pages” which cleared and opened the mind first thing upon waking up. I still engage in this process in a somewhat diluted manner through morning journaling. I begin the day with a clean slate.
Another part of the process that was just as important was the “Artist Date.” You take yourself on a date, yes, to experience something unique and meaningful. This does not have to cost anything; a walk in nature will do, and often does. The point is to commit to being present with yourself in a light-hearted, open, and unencumbered way. This happens weekly. I’ve renewed that practice, as well.
It turns out what children need to grow and develop, adults need as well to harness ongoing imagination and intuition. And this state of creativity comes about through play!
Ah yes, I can hear it now: “Nonsense, I’m an adult. Who has time for play?” But, it seems as we get older play becomes even more important to support our well-being by releasing healthy chemicals our bodies thrive on—oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins. Play Therapist, Theresa A Kestly has this to say:
Our brains are built to benefit from play no matter what our age.”
But of course that would mean stepping into our fears and releasing the baggage we carry around with us from past experiences that keep us trapped in habitual patterns of which we are often unaware. It would mean that we would have to change the rules we have set for ourselves eons ago and step into new territory. And it would mean ignoring those who love to hobble at our insecurities and lack of personal faith. Or we can do as Kyra Davis proposes, face our true selves:
Sometimes we have to step out of our comfort zones. We have to break the rules. And we have to discover the sensuality of fear. We need to face it, challenge it, dance with it.
Like everything else in our toolkit for healthy living, play requires making time for it and ensuring that it has priority in our lives to aid us in becoming who we want to be. Yes, I know sometimes it seems like all hell is breaking loose, but the element within that springs from the depths of your heart is still alive as long as you are breathing and merely needs to be tapped. And perhaps that is what Ralph Waldo Emerson was referring to when he said:
It is a happy talent to know how to play.
Especially in adulthood, play needs to be cultivated and nurtured like a plant. It needs to be given attention, time, and diligence. This pays off in enjoying more of life and it keeps the world beaming with light. Joyful people reflect Light.
Whether your “play” is improvisational dance, contemplative walks, a leisure stroll through an art exhibit, tending a rose garden, strumming a guitar, attending a live concert—whatever it is, consider setting a play date with yourself this week.
Biltmore House Conservatory, Asheville, NC/Photography by Gaye Abbott
“Humans are great at running from truth, but in the garden you can’t hide. Life and death, vitality and decay – it’s all there happening before our eyes.“
The first streaks of light beckon to a fresh virgin day to begin. Songbirds fill the air with their Spring melodious, and at times chaotic, sounds of new life, connection with each other….. and of course nest building.
There are no worries or pressure to “do” within this sacred time. Birthing into the unfolding moments we are gifted with when we take our first conscious inhale and exhale of the day. That is if we can banish the thoughts of what this day is “supposed” to be.
We have a choice as we pause at this intersection of dark and light, the space between inhale and exhale. Allow daily unconscious patterns of doing to take root and direct the choices we make.
Or accept the mystery and beauty of unfolding life and death moment to moment. As an elder, being willing to step over the threshold into new territory and creation – even though we don’t know the way..
Nature is a wise guide in teaching us how we shall spend our time. A reminder that everything is born, unfurled for a period of time…..and then passes it’s essence to the life that is to come.
In embracing nature’s wisdom we become “the constant gardener”…..and nourish beauty, love and joy.
The Green Renaissance video below arrived in my inbox at exactly the right moment to remind me of the preciousness, beauty and mystery of life. When in the midst of the inevitable challenges of life….I sometimes forget. And by the way I talk to plants/trees/flowers too…and listen to what they have to tell me! Enjoy…..
“Humans are great at running from truth, but in the garden you can’t hide. Life and death, vitality and decay – it’s all there happening before our eyes.
The garden is a space defined not by it’s physicality but by the emotions it evokes and the connections it provokes. And the act of gardening can change the way we relate to the world around us for the better, giving us perspective and teaching us lessons about life.
Do we choose to plant seeds of fear or love? Do we fertilize anger or harmony? Do we water the connections we have or let them die of thirst?
Our souls are gardens. Our hearts are flowers. They need to be watered, tended, fertilized and loved. Happy gardening! “
Filmed in Riebeek West, South Africa. Featuring Corné Pretorius.” Humans are great at running from truth, but in the garden you can’t hide. Life and death, vitality and decay – it’s all there happening before our eyes.
The garden is a space defined not by it’s physicality but by the emotions it evokes and the connections it provokes. And the act of gardening can change the way we relate to the world around us for the better, giving us perspective and teaching us lessons about life.
Do we choose to plant seeds of fear or love? Do we fertilize anger or harmony? Do we water the connections we have or let them die of thirst?
Our souls are gardens. Our hearts are flowers. They need to be watered, tended, fertilized and loved. Happy gardening! “
Filmed in Riebeek West, South Africa. Featuring Corné Pretorius.
The wild winds, pounding rain, thunder and lightening lashed out across the landscape. It was enough to make the dogs I was caring for while their owner was gone seek my touch and calming presence as the power to the house suddenly went off leaving us in a twilight space without electricity.
It was enough to simply be present to the power of nature and be still.
And then, as the storm passed and all was quiet the dogs and I stepped out into a world of fresh moisture laden air, fallen limbs from trees, water soaked earth….and the most glorious celebration of light and sunset clouds.
There was something about the landscape now that had transformed within the vibrant life of the storm.
It was like experiencing with all senses engaged the same landscape, that had been there earlier in the day, yet from a different perspective.
Fully communing with this unique nature choreographed beauty for the first time.
It struck me in those precious moments that one of the joys of aging is that you have more time to be still. To explore once again your essential nature that perhaps had been left behind in the business of the earlier stages of your life. To approach the inevitable ups and downs of elderhood placing attention on the possibilities hidden there.
Sometimes our lives feel like that storm, or variations there of, as we face challenges, make mistakes, end relationships. Yet when that has passed through, and it always does, you can be left with a new perspective and awareness that is often times quite different from when and where you started.
Our bodies have landscapes too. Over the last many months I have been working with a physical therapist to guide and support healing of several injuries to low back and hips. The mobility, fluidity and resilience I had always taken for granted was severely compromised. This transition from fully functioning elder to daily pain and compromised mobility was the path I was to walk. Death does not scare me, this did.
Through physical, mental, emotional….and spiritual…..exploration, entering into a deep respect for the intimate and infinite processes that as a whole keep us functioning. If not at optimal levels like we did in the earlier stages of our lives, at least providing a solid foundation for living fully.
My awareness now months later is that I am inhabiting my physicality in a more grounded and enhanced way. In other words I have greater awareness of the functioning whole than before the injuries, and the failures and mistakes in the recovery process that followed. Knowing and listening to what the body is communicating. Not as segmented separate parts but as an astonishing resilient whole.
What if we did celebrate our mistakes and failures as Margy Malan suggests in the short video below?
“Keep moving from a place of failure or brokenness, to be able to find that something new.”
– Margy Malan
“It’s time to abandon your ‘perfect life’. It’s time to admit that we all fail – it’s universal. Yet we’ve been taught to think of failure as something shameful, something we should silently carry around with us.
Instead, we need to know that the failure story ends with some sort of resiliency – I’ve picked myself up, I’m still going. We need to own our failures, celebrate them, share them, and learn from them.
Failure makes us – but only if we accept it as part of life. It’s time that we start to love all the pieces of life’s journey, because it’s through the struggles that we discover our strengths.“
“Wisdom, then, is the art of balancing the known with the unknown, the suffering with the joy; it is a way of linking the whole of life together in a now and deeper unity.
John O’Donohue, Anam Cara
The landscape of aging into elderhood. Navigating the terrain is indeed an art. The artistry of finding ones unique way in an unknown never been there before choreographed dance of light and dark, sadness and joy, sickness and health, belonging and aloneness, sacred and mundane, acceptance and rejection…..living and death.
Each one of us walks a unique path. Yet we yearn to reach out to others, to feel that we too may be a wise elder built upon the experiences and knowing of our lives. Every culture has their own path towards elderhood. Some honor their elders and look to them for wisdom and guidance while other cultures ignore, reject and make invisible.
What would it be like to tell your story? Told in words, poetry, art, music or dance. To share it out into the world. Perhaps you are already doing so….or perhaps you don’t think you have anything to contribute.
Here is where I invite you into a circle of global elders to speak out through your offering. To contribute to the voices that will be passed down to other elders, and to generations to come, of crossing over the threshold into elderhood – your unique journey and destiny this lifetime .
A simple story, an experience that shifted you and woke you up, a poem that simply emerged one day, a challenge that you never saw coming, dance celebrating an aging body, a journey into the shadow, connection with nature, ceremony and ritual, relationship transitions and transformation, honoring the dying process, a moment filled with laughter and connection, wisdom or guidance you wish to share with those younger and/or other elders…..the possibilities are endless.
As many of you know I often use the short films from Green Renaissance and share them through blog posts. Here is one I shared in the past of one beautiful elder woman who is not reticent to share her grounded nature based wisdom. You can’t help but smile with her….
Wrinkles, lines, scars – there are many ways that time leaves its mark on our bodies. Yet mainstream culture dreads getting older – we are urged to fight the ageing process, and many feel pressure to lie about their age. But as Betty Friedan famously said: “Ageing is not ‘lost youth’ but a new stage of opportunity and strength.” With age can come confidence, and freedom to realize who we really are.
As we age, we grow into a deeper kind of beauty, one which works its way from the inside out. It’s a more authentic beauty because it radiates from within. So let’s celebrate lives well lived. And feel lucky to wake each morning to appreciate what the new day has to offer.
Filmed in McGregor, South Africa. Featuring Annie Norgarb.
This is where the Wildly Free Elder global community comes in.
Wildly Free Elder community birthed during the pandemic in June of 2020. A time when virtual connection was all we could manage. A time of great upheaval, fear, loneliness and death….and at the same time an open space for creatively connecting with each other any way we could.
It was the intention at that time to have a global community of elders, some spotlighted on the website, and others simply interested in communing with those who were at the same stage of their lives. Since that time we have lost some of our community to death and the original purpose has been left fallow for awhile as life presented challenges and periods where attention was taken towards the unique ups and downs of life.
Over the past two and a half years others writings, stories, poetry and art have been posted out into the wider community of elders. Now I hear the strong call to extend an open invitation to the wider global elder community, as well as those spotlighted on the site, to contribute their elder wisdom, challenges, stories, poetry, humor, and joys…. onto this web space.
“Wisdom is a deeper way of knowing. Wisdom is the art of living in rhythm with your soul, your life and the divine. “
John O’Donohue,
I learn from, and am richer for, the wisdom of others life path. Their fears and joys, their creativity and experiences of navigating this last stage of a human lifetime. There is much out there already including the sacred teachings of indigenous earth based humans and the ever present wise guidance of the natural world.
I say let’s add more by contributing to “Elder Voices” and see what emerges. Please submit stories, poetry, art or even short videos to be part of this collection. Others will benefit from your contributions!
Fill in the Contact Form below and let me know what you have to contribute. I will send you an email address to send your submission to if you don’t already have it. Thank You!! Gaye Abbott
Blue Ridge Mountains, Western N. Carolina/Photo by Gaye Abbott
“Solitude is one of the most precious things in the human spirit. It is different from loneliness. When you are lonely, you become acutely conscious of your own separation. Solitude can be a homecoming to your own deepest belonging. “
John O’Donohue, from Anam Cara
Sitting out on the front porch where I am house sitting I gaze at the sky, the mountains and the valley below. This is a familiar view for me as I lived here for the first three months after moving to N. Carolina and since then often visit with my friends and do the occasional house sit.
Yet this morning it is like I have never seen this view before. In actuality I have not seen or experienced it just like this. The light, clouds, shadows, colors and ever changing seasonal landscape. I am different too.
Solitude for me is home. A constant awaking to where I am in touch with all life. An interconnected part of it.
Not only the beauty but the suffering, injustices and pain in this world as well. Felt fully without turning away. My own suffering and pain, finding a space for that too. So often I want to turn away from the heart break, anger and sadness – yet if I do I am not fully living.
I relate to Anthony in the film below in many ways. Being aware of creating a space of stillness in which to express compassion. To extend and receive love. To be angry, sad or scared. It does not always come easily.
Learning there is nothing to “fix” or “take care of” but instead simply to be fully present with myself and another – with life – in “affection, tolerance, humor, curiosity and enthusiasm”. To source from within……
“I don’t feel afraid of being dead. What frightens me is of not living fully before I die. That is a kind of terror”
Antony Osler
How often have you been still? Really still and quiet? Part of our alienation with the world is our inability to stop and just be. We don’t need to do anything, have a purpose, or expect anything from the moment.
So give yourself the space to enjoy moments of stillness – to lean into them, to be nourished by them. Let stillness be a teacher and a friend. It is these moments of silence that open up a closer connection with others. We are able to express ourselves, ask for what we need, and give what we desire to give from the centre of our being.
As Rumi says, “Listen, silence isn’t empty, it is full of the answers.”
Filmed in Colesburg, South Africa. Featuring Antony Osler.
All of our films are made possible through the generous support of our patrons. To be part of this journey : https://www.patreon.com/greenrenaissance If you’d prefer to make once off contribution, our PayPal details are : paypal.me/greenrenaissance
Who is Green Renaissance? We are Michael and Justine – passionate filmmakers, living off-grid and dedicating our time to making films that we hope will inspire and share positivity out into the world.
Editing – by Jackie Viviers Sound mix – by Tamryn Breakey Music sourced from ArtList – https://bit.ly/2KfrAt2 Horizon – by Dear Gravity Distant Embers – by Adi Goldstein A Town Called Dismal – by Josh McCausland Beholding – by Marshall Usinger Birds Above – by Buddha Kid Morning Dew – by Ardie Son Hold Me – by Christopher Galovane
Diana is an Elder in our Wildly Free Elder community. She came to us via synchronicity and on the wings of love. A special member of our women’s elder group she has blessed us with her willingness to let go into the spaciousness and challenges of Elderhood – and with her beauty, artistry, curiosity and transparency. Thank you Diana for sharing the depths of your journey with us…..
My Lunar Year began learning of the death of a dear friend. Both words “dear” and “friend” carry significance in this case as they are words of endearment that one thinks might evolve from years of being together and numerous shared stories both tragic and uplifting. That is not the case here. Ankya was a woman I met through an elder women’s ZOOM group. She lived on the other side of the world, Australia and we had not known each other for very long, less than a year, maybe. The group came together spontaneously and in some ways miraculously. The fleeting times together left a mark that reminds me of the power of connectedness.
Anyway, the information sent me into a tail spin requiring I take some time to work through my feelings of inner despair. Caught off guard and in deep anguish I felt I had to replay why this particular death had touched me at such a gut level. It’s not as if I hadn’t ever experienced death of people I cared about before this time in my history: both sets of parents and grandparents, a brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and classmates have left this world and me, wondering about death and the other side of the veil.
However, with the death of Ankya, I became temporarily immobilized. Her image was constantly floating in my peripheral vision and I would tear up over just about anything. It seemed as if I was unraveling. It was a visceral kind of grief. Potential factors could have been the suddenness of her death, the inability to see her alive and expressive face again and witness her embodied essence, the proximity of age pointing to my own mortality, or it could be I was just death weary from the past few years of constant reminders and fears of death and dying during the global pandemic. Whatever the case it seemed as if I had received an invitation into personal inquiry and perhaps discovery.
Ankya was part of an intimate group of elder women ranging in age from 60-75 who had come together on ZOOM to explore kinship — building friendships with no particular agenda but to lift each other up, engage in meaningful conversation, and hold sacred space for each other. We were not gathering to solve the world’s problems or listen to each other’s aging woes.
We walk a fine line between living and dying, perhaps not voiced but dedicated to expressing a cosmic joy of life and shared community. As creative people we are a sensitive group to begin with—all expressing ourselves through art, writing, dancing, teaching, photography: walking this earth humbly and gently. As the psalmist says:
Still bearing fruit in old age,
still remaining fresh and green.
Another source for this introspection coincidentally arose from the increasing number of personal friends who are sick, recuperating from surgery, and other personal traumas. They are still suffering and Ankya just walked into the sunrise. I guess what struck me was that one day she was fully embodied on this earth and the next she was walking away from us—on a sandy Australian beach, bare foot, in white slacks, a straw hat, and a scarf hanging over one shoulder with one hand raised in the air as if to say “goodbye”—as captured in a photo by one of the group members. Certainly, there seemed to be no grasping or holding on— just taking the next step in her evolution.
Through my personal desolation, the image of her casually walking away reminded me of what Thomas Aquinas suggested that we all need to do—keep living in wholeness, harmony, and radiance to the very end. It’s a subline kind of beauty that draws us to the edges and brings us back to center. If we take a cue from nature sunrises and sunsets are regenerative. Sunsets constantly give way to sunrises. As Carlos Castaneda said:
To be young and vital is nothing. To be old and vital is sorcery.
Later reviewing her websites again, I was graced with videos of her photographic art, poetry and design, receiving even more beauty —breathtaking and resonating with the words of Rumi —
Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.
Once I resolved my sadness and could embrace the discomfort I drew a deep sigh. It seems fitting for me to close with this Navajo Blessing Way Prayer:
In beauty may I walk.
All day long may I walk.
Through the returning seasons may I walk.
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk.
With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk.
With dew about my feet may I walk.
With beauty before me, may I walk.
With beauty behind me, may I walk.
With beauty above me, may I walk.
With beauty below me, may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk.
It is finished in beauty.
It is finished in beauty.
I sense that I may have acquired more patience, mercy, and forgiveness through this passage. Whether in fleeting moments or long-term friendships may we always walk in beauty, love, and joy, reveling in the mysteries of life and death.
We come into this world with a myriad of sensations calling our attention. Throughout our lives we will discover many bodily experiences, some pleasant….and some definitely not. Often the latter is where we dwell.
Yet underneath all of those sensations and experiences lies a miracle of finely tuned and interconnected systems that literally keep us alive and breathing every single moment.
Our vessels of clay are birthed from sparks of creative energy combined and woven together by a divine artist who has a unique form in mind for every living being. How astounding is that?!
Yet, I know I forget, when experiencing something in the body that is either concerning, painful or unpleasant, that there are “quiet miracles going on in every moment” as Kristi Nelson, the Executive Director of A Network For Grateful Living says in the post below.
Though I have found there can be great wisdom in diving down into the particular distressful bodily experience that one is experiencing and navigating the territory with full awareness instead of resisting, it is common to get lost there and identify ourselves by our current concerns.
The post below offers a mindful practice. A way to open into compassion, appreciation and gratitude in the midst of pain, changes and distress. At the end of the post is an inspirational video link for Nick Vujicic who, born without arms and legs, teaches from his experience with honesty, clarity and compassion.
This short practice attunes you to your body in its present state, shifts your attention to all of the quiet miracles taking place in your body in every moment, and invites you to express appreciation towards your body as it is.
Stop whatever you are doing and devote your full attention to being still or slowing down in this moment. Become conscious of your breath breathing itself. Follow a complete inhale-exhale cycle with your full awareness.
Allow your body to soften, wherever it is, exactly as it is. Open to the possibility of greater spaciousness, appreciation, and/or ease in relationship to your body. Commit to feeling everything gently.
You may want to take a few moments to sit or lie down, allowing your body to rest comfortably, feeling supported. You can experiment with putting your hand, or both hands, gently on your chest as you read. Let yourself notice – really notice – your heart beating and your lungs breathing.
No matter what may feel/be “wrong” with your body, there is an overwhelming amount that is perfectly right about your body at all times. Your body is, indeed, nothing short of an absolute miracle.
Look: Allow your attention to focus on how incredibly much is happening in your body every moment without your effort, without your having to try to make anything happen.
It can be difficult to take our attention off of physical pain, changes, or distress. The nature of distress is that it seems to want every last morsel of our attention. But it is important for us to experience the fact that with attention, challenging sensations and experiences in the body can be dwarfed by the larger context of all that is working.
No matter what may feel/be “wrong” with your body, there is an overwhelming amount that is perfectly right about your body at all times. Your body is, indeed, nothing short of an absolute miracle. Allow yourself to consider these extraordinary facts:
Your body produces approximately 2.5 million new red blood cells each second
Your heart beats around 100,000 times each and every day
Your lungs can take in more than 3,000 gallons of air each day
Your brain uses 20% of your body’s oxygen and caloric intake, even though it is only about 2% of your body mass.
Is there one fact that stands out to you – that makes you really appreciate the gift of your body and how much it is offering you? Allow yourself to focus on this one thing about your body and practice holding it in your awareness.
Your body is the precious vessel for who you are. You are alive right now, and it is a gift.
Go: Move throughout the next moments carrying the idea that, no matter what else might feel true, your body is nothing short of miraculous. You are more than any part. You are even more than the sum of all your parts. Your body is the precious vessel for who you are. You are alive right now, and it is a gift.
Write down three things about your body that are working and for which you feel grateful. Whenever your mind slips into negative thoughts about your body, interrupt the pattern by reminding yourself of these three things, and/or saying to yourself, or writing, “I am grateful for my body.” Focus on what is working.
Feeling compassion for ourselves can open us to greater compassion for others who are suffering, and empathetic engagement with others can help us to re-frame our own experience.
Find a physical gesture of tenderness and care – such as placing your hand on your heart – that you can offer to yourself when you get stuck in judgments about your body. This type of gesture can be filled with meaning and association. When you find yourself getting caught in all that feels wrong, let this gesture be a healing reminder to your body that it is appreciated.
It can also offer us perspective to focus on others whose physical challenges are even greater than ours – no matter our situation. Feeling compassion for ourselves can open us to greater compassion for others who are suffering, and empathetic engagement with others can help us to re-frame our own experience. Other people need our compassion, understanding, and support – just as we need theirs.
Be inspired by Nick Vujicic who, born without arms and legs, teaches from his experience, and invites us to “be thankful, dream big and never give up.”
For more inspiration, explore the guiding Grateful Living practice of Stop.Look.Go.
Kristi Nelson
Executive Director
About the author
Kristi Nelson is Executive Director of A Network for Grateful Living and the author of Wake Up Grateful: The Transformative Practice of Taking Nothing for Granted. Her life’s work in the non-profit sector has focused on leading, inspiring, and strengthening organizations committed to progressive social and spiritual change. Being a long-time stage IV cancer survivor moves her every day to support others in living and loving with great fullness of heart. Learn more about Kristi here.
