WILDLY FREE ELDER
The Artistry of Aging
Embracing Life’s Unpredictability
Sunrise Over Blue Ridge Mountains, NC,2/2026 – Photography by Gaye Abbott
It only takes a reminder to breathe,
a moment to be still, and just like that,
something in me settles, softens, makes
space for imperfection. The harsh voice
of judgment drops to a whisper and I
remember again that life isn’t a relay
race; that we will all cross the finish
line; that waking up to life is what we
were born for. As many times as I forget,
catch myself charging forward
without even knowing where I’m going,
that many times I can make the choice
to stop, to breathe, and be, and walk
slowly into the mystery.
~Danna Faulds
I am asking myself a lot these days this question. What is it to be fully human???
Tears roll down my face more often right now whether it be that my heart is touched by beauty or the song of a bird; I am watching a video of a child in a wheelchair handing a flower to a monk on the Walk for Peace; hearing the story of someone who just lost their dog of many years to cancer; reading about the formation of Singing Resistance communities in the U.S. – peaceful protests protecting and supporting the immigrant population here; feeling, hearing about, and coming in personal contact with the great need of so many to connect, belong somehow, and find some sense of inner peace in a world that seems to have gone crazy.
In a word – “vulnerability” to life’s unpredictability. Knowing that we can’t control, but we can choose how we react with situations and people when they occur. Trusting that.
Showing up in all of our complexity. No withholding. No masks. No barriers. Peeling back layers to something that was here already. Knowing that as Jane Kennedy says in the short video below – “We are never lost. We are where we are, and there is a always a gift in where we are”.
If we negate the present moments we are in, or choose to dismiss or run away from them, our life disintegrates. When we trust others and share our personal journey from a space of transparent honesty then the potential is there to grow awareness, connect and be supported.
Listening deeply from our hearts with compassion among others who who may be vastly different from us. Practicing kindness even when it feels like rocky territory to navigate. There is a connection that is made when we are this fully human contributing to what Martin Luther King, Thich Nhat Hahn, and so many others called The Beloved Community. This community can then expand and embrace us.
None of this can happen if we are not open to accepting the unpredictability of life, especially as we grow older. The moment to moment journey is indeed the teacher. Are we willing to be consciously aware enough to where we are placing our attention….to simply be present as the mystery of life unfolds?
WILD GEESE
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
~Mary Oliver
“Life is full of twists and turns, unexpected detours. We plan and we chase, yet some of the richest moments come from what we cannot predict. There is a quiet magic in surrendering to the unknown and following the paths that reveal themselves along the way.
Getting off track is not a failure. It can open the door to new discoveries, deepen our understanding, or lead us to experiences we could never have imagined. The journey itself becomes the teacher, guiding us through uncertainty with subtle gifts.
To live fully is to embrace life’s unpredictability, move forward without rigid expectation, and trust that each step carries its own meaning. When we lean into the unknown, we find richness, connection, and a deeper sense of being part of something far greater than ourselves.”
Featuring Jane Kennedy (http://www.janekennedy.co.za)
Filmed in Sedgefield, South Africa
Jane reads two beautiful poems in this film. They are:
– Wild Geese, by Mary Oliver
– Walk Slowly, by Danna Faulds
We have shared a previous film featuring Jane. You can watch it here – https://youtu.be/Du7fMHtPkh0
All of our films are made possible through the generous support of our patrons.
To be part of this journey : http://www.patreon.com/reflectionsoflife
If you’d prefer to make once off contribution, our PayPal details are : paypal.me/reflectionsfilms
Join our YouTube channel to get early access to our films
Who is Reflections of Life? We are Justine and Michael. We use our passion for film making and our love of storytelling, to remind our audience of one simple truth – that we are all human. The more that we understand and believe in this interconnectedness, the more we will treat ourselves, one another, and planet earth with a greater sense of compassion.
Filming – by Michael Raimondo, Editing – by Justine du Toit, along with many other very talented individuals and translators.
BEHIND THE LENS: THE DETOUR WE DIDN’T EXPECT
You will find here a behind the lens talk among Michael, Justine and a new friend from Slovenia just hours after they had all of their camera equipment and computers stolen from the back of their car. This film brings you up close and personal with the creators of Reflections for Life , how they navigate an unpredictable life situation that strips them of the very equipment they use for all of their filming/editing, and how a new friendship with a man from Slovenia was formed.
I have been following Michael and Justine for many years now and have found their short films the very heart and essence of what it is to be human with magnificent, sensitive and gorgeous filming. I invite you to take some time to watch this short Behind the Lens video and connect with these extraordinary people.
“Today we’re sharing something a little different with you. The last few days have brought unexpected challenges that have made us pause, reflect, and take stock of what we often take for granted.
Last week our vehicle was broken into and most of our film gear was stolen. Sound equipment, hard drives, laptops. The tools we use every day. Gone.
It has been disorienting, both practically and emotionally. There is the obvious shock of the loss, and then the deeper layer of what it stirs beneath the surface. In this Behind the Lens conversation, Michael and I sit down with our friend Tadej to speak honestly about what happened, about vulnerability, attachment, and what remains when something you rely on disappears overnight.
We didn’t plan for this experience. The path turned without warning. And we were asked, in real time, how we would meet it.
As we have processed it, we’ve realised how closely this experience connects with our newest film, There Are No Secrets. It explores the theme of surrendering to the unknown and trusting the paths that reveal themselves along the way.
Life is full of twists, turns, and unexpected detours. We plan, we strive, and we chase, yet some of the richest moments come from what we cannot predict. There is a quiet magic in surrendering to the unknown and following the paths that reveal themselves along the way.
Getting off track is not a failure. It can open the door to new discoveries, deepen our understanding, or lead us to experiences we could never have imagined. The journey itself becomes the teacher, guiding us through uncertainty with subtle gifts.
To live fully is to embrace life’s unpredictability, move forward without rigid expectations, and trust that each step carries its own meaning. When we lean into the unknown, we find richness, connection, and a deeper sense of being part of something far greater than ourselves.“
Thank You for being a subscriber to Wildly Free Elder posts – or finding your way here through synchronicity! Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, reflections and wild creative endeavors to inspire others. Gaye Abbott (click here)**
If you don’t want to miss future posts simply sign up for the blog here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/ *When you receive your email remember click on the title in order to see all images and videos posted on the post website.
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, 03/01/2026
Ripening
Snowy Day/Blue Ridge Mountains, N. Carolina/1/31/26/Photography by Gaye Abbott
“When you build a home inside yourself, you stop needing others to “complete” you. You simply share your completeness with them. You stop begging for attention and start radiating presence.” ~Buddhist Teaching
Buddhist Monks Walk For Peace, 1/31/26, Virginia, USA
Sitting in a warm and comfortable sun room in the home where I am caring for a kitty named Booda, I gaze out at the sparkling snow covered landscape and reflect deeply on this stage of life and what is happening in our country and the world.
As I sit here in comfort 19 Buddhist Monks walk the icy, snowy and very cold terrain toward Washington DC on US 1 in their 99th day of walking from Fort Worth, TX embodying the peace, loving kindness, compassion and mindfulness that they are bringing as reminders and practice to so many in the world. Directly in contact with those who wait on the side of the road for them to walk past bearing flowers and respect for what they are doing on behalf of all humanity.
Yes, I have been following this walk daily via video and posts, most often with tears running down my face as I witness, and join, the tears of others; the disabled and suffering who are receiving peace bracelets; the children who bare signs, flowers and pictures they have made for the monks; and even law enforcement who are making certain these devoted monks are protected and cared for.
The impermanence of this lifetime is showing up more and more for me these days. Physical changes are what I notice most. Learning to be at peace with them instead of resisting or trying to “fix” them within the paradigm of aging in this country is an on going practice. Acknowledging, accepting and being at peace with aging in a physical body is sometimes challenging.
What would it feel like to know that aging can simply be resilient ripening. Ripening into a completeness within from where peace and acceptance is generated. No longer using life energy to compete for attention, but instead radiating presence even in the most challenging of circumstances and in our inevitable moments of suffering.
The credit for this photo goes to Crisp Pics LLC Event Photography, and shared originally by Maya Hart
“My immediate thought upon seeing this one photograph was that this image doesn’t need words, for the image feels like:
~love that didn’t disappear
~loss that learned how to breathe
~resilience without needing applause
It symbolizes America if you stop and think about it.
Without a single word, there’s so much being spoken here.
A lone figure in the cold, holding flowers close…not out for show…not for anyone else to see. That gesture feels intimate, almost prayer-like. Grief, remembrance, love, reverence… maybe all of them braided together. The winter around him makes it even louder…life paused, stripped down, quiet…yet color is still being offered.
What moves me most is the tenderness. Strength doesn’t look loud here. Yet, there is so much of it. It looks like stillness. Like honoring something (or someone) with presence rather than performance.”
~SummerLyn Guthrie
Ripening can be extending our presence out into the community in as many moments as we are gifted with. Being kind towards self and others when the situation may call for being reactive; holding compassion for those who are suffering and locked in anger; being mindful with words and actions and the effect they may have on others; embodying the peace we wish to see in our lives, our country and in the world.
This is my peaceful day….to live mindfully and with an open heart.
Thank You for being a subscriber to Wildly Free Elder posts – or finding your way here through synchronicity! Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, reflections and wild creative endeavors to inspire others. Gaye Abbott (click here)**
If you don’t want to miss future posts simply sign up for the blog here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/ *When you receive your email remember click on the title in order to see all images and videos posted on the post website.
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, 02.01.2026
Audacious Aliveness
“I study as if I am going to live to 120 and I live as if today is all I have.”
~Igo-sensei, elder Aikido Master, ikebana teacher (flower arranging), tea connoisseur
SNERDLE: to wrap up cozily beneath the covers and hold off the day for a little while longer, savoring warmth, comfort and the slow moments before stepping into the world.
What a perfect practice in Winter…to snerdle. My mind wants to take this all over the place like “let’s do some snerdling together”, “we have just snerdled and now are energized for the unfolding of the day”, “to snerdle is a meditation of self care” and so on…
It is from here we enter our day, though somewhat reluctantly at times, being offered the opportunity to return to who we really are….
…..which is who we were before we became afraid.
i had one of those moments the other day stepping outside from retrieving my mail at the post office and just before opening the car door, almost as an after thought, I looked up at the sky. Standing there in wonder feeling as if the sky, clouds and sun collaborated to create a unique art piece that literally took my breath away and drew me into the vortex.
Remembering that this snapshot of a moment will never be this way again. Even in the next moment as I gazed up it had changed configuration and the light and cloud formations shifted to other locations and shapes.
Weaverville, N. Carolina/January 2026/Photography by Gaye Abbott
This is our life too as we are in partnership and relationship with everything. Endless change and shifts, most beneath our radar but still continuous. Birth, death, re-creation, regeneration.
What language is the world using to teach us about how to navigate life without fear?
A book came into my life this week that speaks to “Kokoro” – heart mindfulness. Living from an intelligent heart and feeling mind. A bit of Japanese cultural wisdom to actively live within.
What I am also calling audacious aliveness – fearlessly free, courageous nourishment, embodied wildness, intimacy with nature, and at times daring to create our own language free of fear and anxiety, all while cultivating stillness even among great uncertainty.
The author of this book, Beth Kempton, shares this on living from Kokoro:
“To approach your day heart-mindfully is to walk with sensitivity to, and awareness of, the aliveness in everything around you, in the knowledge that nothing will last forever, and all will eventually fade. It is also to recognize the feelings that arise in you in response to the world, as you encounter it in every moment.” ~ Beth Kempton, from Kokoro, Japanese Wisdom for A Life Well Lived
What we say to ourselves and to each other is impactful in a myriad of ways. Words often define our lives in ways that can restrict and bind without our even being aware.
I have often found the definitions of words already in the English language disembodied (other languages having more feeling and layers to explore), and not particularly residing in heart mindfulness or mind feeling. They often feel sterile and without passion and life.
What would it be to step into a magical and creative world with words?
January New Year Practice (if you dare!)
Have you ever read a book and loved it so much you didn’t want it to end? I mention this here as this magical book speaks to the creation of a persons unique language. Perhaps it will instill in you a spark of interest to create at least one word of your own.
Here are some created words from, The Story She Left Behind, by Patti Callahan Henry:
Adorium: the kind of love that obliterates all sense and logic and has the world appearing just as it is – completely and utterly magical. This word is the knowing that all things are one and that we are connected to all things – the love that created you and the love from which we came and the love to which we shall someday return. The greatest love.
Enchantia: wild world experienced as bright birdsong on a windswept morning.
Arbormore: a tree that has a proper name but feels as if it is other worldly and should not be categorized. A tree that is portal to another world. A magical tree.
Talith: When the sky breaks open. Transformation that changes you into who you are meant to be, into your very essence.
Please leave a comment on this blog post if you create a word with a meaning and wish to share it. We would love to see it!
The short video below is one I have watched at the beginning of every New Year for awhile now, to remind me that life is a gift and our moments are precious, especially as an elder.
Can you live as if this is the very first day of your life…and the very last?
Thank You for being a subscriber to Wildly Free Elder posts – or finding your way here through synchronicity! Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, reflections and wild creative endeavors to inspire others. Gaye Abbott (click here)**
If you don’t want to miss future posts simply sign up for the blog here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/ *When you receive your email remember to click on the title in order to see all images and videos posted on the post website.
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, 01/15/2026
Choosing A Slower Life
Blue Ridge Mountain Winter Landscape at “Turkey Landing”/Photography by Gaye Abbott
Sitting here gazing out at the Winter landscape from the sun room of a clients home where I am caring for a 14-year-old kitty who impresses me in many moments as a sentient being who knows much more than I do about how life operates and flows.
He lives life slowly and challenges me to do the same…. except when he gets the zoomies of course. There is always time and space for play and fun – lest we get too serious about life. Animals will remind you.
“Booda”/ Photography by Gaye Abbott/12/2025
We gaze out together at the bare branches winding their way towards the diminished light this time of year Viewing nature’s artistic expression in the uniqueness of each tree and the ever changing landscape. Becoming part of the unfolding of a place. The willingness to become continually surprised by it. Reconnected.
Suddenly an entire rafter of turkeys slowly make their way across the landscape as a brilliant red cardinal joins them to pick at what tasty morsels may be on the ground. A squirrel saunters by on its quest for food. I slowly recognize that I am also part of this unfolding of life. Not separate behind my glass walls, but unequivocally a part of.
How deeply connected can we be to a place? To where we live and breathe in any given moment?
To the moment itself….to ourselves.
The season of Winter here in Western N. Carolina, embraced by the Blue Ridge Mountains, has a sparseness and economy to it draped in bare branches and a monochrome environment. Feeling more exposed and open, and at the same time yearning to curl inward to restore, reflect, and perhaps grieve..
It is here that we cannot escape the death of all living things. The endless transformation of birth, growth, death, transformation, change. The fear of any of this is part of our disconnect. The seasons come and go…. and so do we.
Taking moments in time to be completely absorbed in the on going transformation and magic around you could result in an almost constant state of awe and wonder. Take two minutes to watch the video below that shows snowflakes via the perspective of a microscope. No two are the same as they slowly reveal their beauty and unique structure and then reunite with the landscape around them.
We are fundamentally a part of this cycle of living and dying. Being part of the pattern of belonging, a part of the seasons of constant change. It lives in us….and so does the awe at what we can’t see but is constantly unfolding all around us.
Immersing into the heart of each slowly evolving moment one can become so connected with the environment one is inhabiting that there is no way to feel separate. There is an expansiveness in this that reminds one to fluidly open into a clearer sense of connection.
Within relationship, creative endeavors, breath, and a myriad of other opportunities and possibilities to remind us to fully embrace the moments we have left this lifetime.
I leave you with Antony Osler who’s life is simple…. his presence comforting in letting go of cultures restrictions and rules and his insights on simply being.
“There is a quiet richness that reveals itself when we move at a gentler pace. As we stop rushing, the day opens up, and life becomes less about striving and more about feeling grounded in the place we already stand.
When the noise softens, our awareness shifts. Choosing slowness isn’t about withdrawing from the world, but about returning to it with a clearer sense of connection. It reminds us that meaning often lives in the pauses — those moments where we feel part of something larger than our own momentum.
In these calmer spaces, a deeper sense of belonging begins to take root. We reconnect with ourselves, with others, and with the world around us in a way that feels steady and true. A slower life doesn’t ask for perfection, only a willingness to make room for what genuinely matters.”
Featuring Antony Osler – https://www.stoepzen.co.za
Filmed in Colesburg, South Africa.
We have shared a previous film featuring Antony, and also two featuring him and his wife together. You can find these here –
Stillness – https://youtu.be/OkHypImEY84
Love Lessons – https://youtu.be/pbyQhbZJhwI
What is Love? – https://youtu.be/td2O06HfhDY
Thank You for being a subscriber to Wildly Free Elder posts – or finding your way here through synchronicity! Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, reflections and wild creative endeavors to inspire others. Gaye Abbott (click here)**
If you don’t want to miss future posts simply sign up for the blog here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/ *When you receive your email remember to click on the title in order to see all images and videos posted on the post website.
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, 12/8/25
The Courage to Follow Your Soul’s Calling
“I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing Light of your own Being.” ~Hafiz
A conversation evolved with my brother the other day about finding solutions to challenges and problems outside of the box of where they are created. We all remember the saying or hearing, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.”
Humanity often feels stuck to me, following the dictates of what is “right” or “wrong” within the mainstream cultural directives, present thinking, or others expectations, not realizing that we may be losing ourselves in the process and at the same time adversely affecting the earth’s diversity that we are an intimate interconnected part of.
Losing the parts of ourselves that want to express in our own unique and heart/soul lead way. Becoming numb to, or in fear of, standing out or labeled as a “crazy old person”. Losing our wholeness and fracturing into parts.
Like the approaches being taken towards slowing down “climate change” and repairing the damage that humans have wrought on the natural world as a whole. Like everything these days the present solutions seem to be cataloged in commerce by putting a monetary value on everything, versus recognizing that our task is to recognize that our existence rests upon the entirety of planetary life. In other words we cannot “resolve or fix” our environmental challenges by staying in the same mind set.
“We need more than policy change; we need a change of worldview from the fiction of human exceptionalism to the reality of our kinship and reciprocity with the living world. The planet asks us that we renounce a culture of endless taking so that the world can continue.” ~Robin Wall Kimmerer
I sometimes find it is easy to get stuck in patterned ways of being/thinking for it may feel like “comfort” and “safety” resides there. And oh after six, seven or eight decades of embodied life don’t we all seek peace and comfort without the daily struggles and fears?
Comfort is often in the guise of conforming to others expectations or the structures we are living within, until we realize that taking “should” and “must” out of our vocabulary opens up new worlds. Trusting the flow of these precious moments we are being given as elders with the courage to listen to that quiet truth within.
Having the courage to embrace the journey that is beckoning. Vulnerability lives here.
This can take many forms, but every time that inner voice guides us it is usually something that will take courage, grit and new ways of out of the box perceiving of our carefully built lives. What lives in these spaces filled with possibility?
Are you curious?
“All holiness is about learning to hear the voice of your soul. It is always there and the more deeply you listen, the greater surprises and discoveries that will unfold…” ~John O’Donohue
For over 20 years, every 3-5 years, I would relocate to a completely different state/area to reinvent myself and find out who I was without the labels. After all no one knew who I was and I could drop the old patterned me and start afresh.
This may not be the path for you, but be clear that there is no planning involved in how to express in the next moment. It simply unfolds and calls you fourth in an improvisational pathway from the heart and soul of your authentic being.
Perhaps this is a way forward toward the challenges of the world we live in. Removing the interference of trying to fit in and the fears that we hold inside. Creating, innovating, and being courageous enough to show up differently. and more authentically. It is not always easy, but then that is when the real openings reveal themselves.
Is it time now to follow your soul’s calling? Listening to that quiet yet persistent voice inside that has always been guiding you.
Listen, trust, be curious, take effective action by leaping out of the box, be willing to be surprised – and most of all have fun….
“May I live this day compassionate of heart,
Clear in word,
Gracious in awareness,
Courageous in thought,
Generous in love.”
~John O’Donohue
“There comes a time in life when we must tune out the noise — the expectations of others, the pressures of society, the voices that tell us who we should be — and instead, listen to the quiet truth within us. Following your own calling is not always easy.
It requires courage to walk a path that others may not understand, to trust your heart when the world offers doubt, and to honor what feels right for your soul, even when it goes against the current. But in the end, the deepest fulfillment comes not from seeking approval, but from living authentically, embracing the journey that is uniquely yours.”
Featuring Nirmala Nair. Filmed in Cape Town, South Africa by Reflections of Life
Thank You for being a subscriber to Wildly Free Elder posts – or finding your way here through synchronicity! Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, reflections and wild creative endeavors to inspire others. Gaye Abbott (click here)**
If you don’t want to miss future posts simply sign up for the blog here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/ *When you receive your email remember to click on the title in order to see all images and videos posted on the post website.
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, 11/9/25
Being Present
Blue Ridge Mountain Sunset, N. Carolina/October 2025
“Let us develop respect for all living things. Let us try to replace violence and intolerance with understanding and compassion. And love.” ~Jane Goodall
Being present for me contains an entire sequence of letting go’s. Letting go of agenda’s, should, have to, others expectations and sometimes our own. As Kristoff in the video below says, “letting go means not giving this any more energy”.
What happens in this space, the void that follows, is enough emptiness to feel into and focus on our own dream for this time of our life. To have the courage to follow a more authentic path woven with understanding, compassion, respect and of course love we then inspire each other.
As Jane Goodall said over and over again, “each day you are going to be making some kind of impact. Think and choose wisely what kind of impact you will make.”
I like to envision a world where all humans take some time out to simply be present every single day and mindfully, with as much of an open heart as possible, choosing the impacts they will make.
I wonder what would transform and how that would change the challenges we all, and individually, face at this time? How much more joy and connection will be experienced?
As we age this practice becomes even more important in recognition that our time here has become much more limited before our own transition. What legacy are we creating right now? It could be profoundly simple, but don’t think that you aren’t making a difference!
Every single day is filled with possible ways to make a positive, compassionate and perhaps innovative and creative impact. It comes in the form of connection – to each other, to ourselves, to the animal and natural world and our environment that we are an integral and interconnected part of.
Overlook on Blue Ridge Parkway, NC/Photography by Gaye Abbott/ 10/2025
Just this past weekend a friend and I traveled up to Mount Mitchell, the tallest mountain East of the Mississippi. It was with celebration that we drove the Blue Ridge Parkway to get there as Hurricane Helene, a year ago now, destroyed so many portions of this well know road.
Though it wasn’t predicted to be opened up and all the repairs made this year….it was. Just at the beginning of leaf season here in Western N. Carolina….and yes the colors were stunning and people from all over the world came to take in the beauty of this part of the natural world that day and connect with each other.
How many humans, equipment and cost did this take to open the road back up again where there were swaths of trees laid down on the ground, parts of the roads completely taken out, and bare hillsides from mud slides. Each person that contributed to the opening of this lush nature pathway made an impact, not to even mention the hundreds of volunteers that are still clearing trails that are well loved and used.
We often forget that it takes our interconnected relationships, skills, innovations, collaborations and vision to remind us what is most important for the well being of all life….a deeper connection with the natural world around us and each other. Working together creates hope for our future.
The short video below comes from a male perspective and shows vulnerability, emotion and transparency. I invite you to take just about 12 minutes out of your day to take in Christoff’s experience of being truly present and aware in the moment…..and how he learned to let go.
“What do we really want from life? In this film, Christoff invites us into his reflections on happiness, adventure, and the practice of being truly present. He reminds us that the unknown doesn’t need to be something to avoid or fear, but can instead be a doorway into wonder, curiosity, and a deeper sense of connection with the world around us.
This story is also a gentle reminder that life isn’t only about reaching a destination, but about showing up for the journey itself — noticing the small things, embracing the detours, and finding joy in the moments along the way.
Six years ago, Christoff stepped away from his corporate job to follow a different path. Since then, he’s been creating content for his YouTube channel @GetOutGO – an African overlanding and off-grid camping show that celebrates wild places, open skies, and the freedom of heading out into the unknown.”
Featuring Christoff and Venessa.
Filmed in Karoo National Park, South Africa by Reflections of Life
“Today and tomorrow and the next day, each day you’re going to be making some kind of impact. Think and choose wisely what kind of impact you make.” ~Jane Goodall
*RECOMMENDED BOOK: Carbon, The Book of Life by Paul Hawken
Thank You for being a subscriber to Wildly Free Elder posts – or finding your way here through synchronicity! Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, reflections and wild creative endeavors to inspire others. Gaye Abbott (click here)**
If you don’t want to miss future posts simply sign up for the blog here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/ *When you receive your email remember to click on the title in order to see all images and videos posted on the post website.
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, 10/6/25
Courage With Self-Compassion
Blue Ridge Mountain Range/Western N. Carolina/Photography by Gaye Abbott
“In a world of noise, confusion and conflict, it is necessary that there is a place of inner silence and peace; not the peace of mere relaxation but the peace of inner clarity and love.” ~Thomas Merton
I sit on the deck of friends who are away taking their daughter to New Jersey where she will begin her first job as an attorney at law, caring for their elder black lab and their not often seen nature loving kitty. The image above is what I am blessed with as I gaze out to the mountains nestled in the clouds.
As elders we are often asked, consciously or unconsciously, to be invisible and not take up too much space as our younger counterparts or adult children seem to simply not have time for us. It takes courage to speak out and take care of ourselves and each other by not hiding. By bringing our wisdom, compassion, humor, consciousness, our heart – and yes, our courage to every interaction we have each and every day.
To listen to another and take time to hold space for awareness to grow or not. Without judgement…only spaciousness. Simply to be present holding each other in a way that allows a full breath and encourages inner clarity and acceptance.
These days I am very aware of the judgements that we make within ourselves, as well as take on coming from others. I hear older people say that it takes so much longer to accomplish anything or heal. We sometimes feel that half our day is taken up with the care and feeding of our bodies, minds and creative hearts. I say with great compassion, what more important activity or task should we be focused on?
Yes, it sometimes does take longer to do daily tasks of living, and certainly healing an injury, but then aren’t we in a stage of life where it can be a relief to not be rushing off somewhere, but instead fully enjoying the simple acts of living from day to day. Opening to gratitude that we are blessed to still be here even with the challenges we face, and in that compassionate self care opening possibilities to positively impact those we care about; even complete strangers.
It takes courage to land grounded in the elder years of our lives. Without resistance or expectation, and with a great deal of letting go and surrender. How much more can we enjoy the moments of our lives when moving and interacting as if everything is sacred and has purpose – to be appreciated and grateful for.
A small 15-year-old miniature Dachshund named Penny who is blind and deaf has recently been my greatest teacher about courage, resilience and fearlessness. Observing her as she navigates new territory on our twice daily walks at a local Nature Park with her nose to the ground, her sense of smell very much intact, she investigates everything. Her ability to use energetic sensing to feel safe in her dark and silent world. I watch as she jumps up on a bed that she has never been on before with her very little legs, propelling herself like a star basketball player would when doing a jump shot.
It takes courage to maintain self compassion in the face of loss, grief, and ever changing physical/mental abilities. I have learned that adaptability and resilience is what growing older requires. Fighting against what seems like loses only contracts our ability to stay present and appreciate the precious moments as they present to us – knowing that is all we really have.
The dogs and kitties under my care teach me to live within these pathways of mindfulness and presence: Be in the moment, take time to savor life, go slowly, learn new things, explore and experience everything with a fresh new perspective each time, give and receive/ask for love without inhibition, enjoy every morsel of food, play vigorously and with abandon, be joyful just because you are alive, sleep deeply, walk daily, communicate an infinite amount without words, accept aging body challenges….and when our time is done here let go with grace and surrender.
Meanwhile, have the courage to howl when you are so moved!
“With past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
TOBY, 11-year-old Black Lab/Toby knows how to fall asleep instantly and with great abandon!/Western N. Carolina/Photography by Gaye Abbott
RALEIGH, 2-year-old English Cream Golden Retriever with play friend Zoey
LET’S NOT FORGET PLAY, HUMOR…COMPASSIONATE SELF CARE, AND COURAGE IN THE FACE OF CHALLENGES!!
Thank You for being a subscriber to Wildly Free Elder posts – or finding your way here through synchronicity! Through 2025 there will be regular posts the middle and end of each month. Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, reflections and wild creative endeavors to inspire others. Gaye Abbott (click here)**
If you don’t want to miss future posts simply sign up for the blog here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/ *When you receive your email remember to click on the title in order to see all images and videos posted on the post website.
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, 07/30/25
Lessons In Surrender
Rod Taylor Forest Overlook, Blue Ridge Mountains/Western N. Carolina/Photography by Beth Smith
| “Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos—the trees, the clouds, everything.” |
| — Thich Nhat Hanh |
Though “surrender” has a bad rap there are many ways to be with this word and its meaning for you. This last couple of months brought so many lessons in surrender that I became quite proficient, if that is even possible!
Let’s just say that SURRENDER is preceded by LETTING GO which I found lays the groundwork for surrendering into the unfolding flow of life moments……and trusting the possibilities and opportunities that emerge. .
Life moments where new perceptions and imaginings are born and created. Trusting the intelligence of life and your body even when personal and global challenges seem dire.
Perhaps we can learn from Reece, a doggie I care for, who enters each day and moment with all of her senses and though she has taken the same walk through the forest every morning and evening she stops to investigate on levels that humans can’t even begin to imagine and finds something new to discover.
July for me was filled with opportunities to let go and thus to surrender agendas, expectations and past identities. It feels as if this happens more and more as we grow into elderhood.
Personally, the catalysts for this particular batch of letting go’s and surrender included a 77th birthday celebration on 7/7, the challenge of temporary health issues, and visiting family in N. California.
Celebrating this magical birthday of 7’s with a cross country trip to N. California to see my oldest and youngest sons, my two teenage grandchildren, and to connect with a few friends. I had not been able to see them in person for the last four years since I left California and moved to the Western N. Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains, so it seemed absolutely the best way to celebrate another year passing.
The opportunities for letting go and surrender included the realization that yet another year had quickly passed in what felt like an ever diminishing time for embodiment this lifetime and facing my own eventual mortality; feeling out of control within the health issues yet in letting go I learned to place attention on curiously seeking core causes and possible resolutions – which I did; and oh – finally letting go of the identity and role of parenting to sons now in their 40’s and 50’s who haven’t needed parenting for quite a long time and connecting in a very different way that deepened the connection for all of us.
The vow made from all of this was to be more resilient and open to new opportunities that present themselves, instead of allowing the contracted identity for growing older in this culture to block new adventures and explorations. The fear of limitation that challenges so many of us as we age and the old identities that we may cling to but are no longer relevant, and in fact restrict the fullness of simply being present moment to moment.
Before the trip there was expectation on my part of getting everyone together to enjoy family time. Yet as it turned out I learned to completely trust the unfolding of events as availability of family members and friends kept changing. I couldn’t have “planned” what did unfold in this space of surrender. How freeing that was!
Chris Reynolds (Son), Me, Lorenzo Reynolds (13-year-old Grandson)
The remedy was to let go of any agendas or expectations I had and with that went any frustration or stress. The result was extraordinary with everything falling into place. Having one on one time with those I dearly love and care about I was freed up to simply be fully me in the moment. A me that was four years older and evolving.
There were many special moments shared in the 8 days I was there. Miraculously I was present in person with my 13-year-old grandsons Little League team to see them win the Northern California Little League Championships, celebrating the win with my two sons and grandson! This is not something that was known to be on the agenda before I arrived in Sacramento to stay with my oldest son, who lived not far from where the game was to be played.
It could be said that this is the perfect practice for growing older as well. For the moments are precious and in essence all we have. Finding freedom in letting go that keeps us expanding into surrender while fully honoring who we have become and are becoming….foreplay for that last moment of life when we experience the final
letting go…..surrender.
Salmon Creek Beach, N. California/Photography by Gaye Abbott
Visiting a beach I frequented regularly when living in Sonoma county, standing on the wet sand at shores edge breathing in the salt air and negative ions, I am in absolute joy. My being celebrates having been such an ocean woman for most of my life growing up only blocks away from the beach in San Diego. So many precious memories that still live in my body.
Yet somehow it wasn’t quite the same as it had been. I will always love being by and in the sea, but I no longer yearn for it. Instead I have become a lover of the Blue Ridge Mountains and feel at home there now. Another “identity” shifting?
Gratitude for all that has been and is in this moment, and for the ever present change that makes living extraordinary as well as often challenging. It is all precious.
Let go and ride with the wind and waves with your hands up in the air wise elders!
Morning questions to begin the day: “For whom or what am I grateful, at this particular moment? What is the work of gratitude I’ll do this day, regardless of how pained I may feel?” Eric Alan
I invite you to take a few minutes to watch this short in depth and profoundly touching video of Annie Norgarb below. I love when she makes the sound of the birds flying over!
“Time, when approached with gentleness, doesn’t have to be something we resist. It can become a steady companion, offering a quieter kind of beauty — one that isn’t about appearance or achievement, but about depth and authenticity. As we grow older, our priorities shift, our understanding deepens, and there’s often a greater sense of ease in simply being who we are.
The passing years don’t take away who we are, they often bring us closer to it. Rather than chasing youth or regretting its passing, there is value in settling into ourselves more fully. When we stop measuring life by what we should be or do, we begin to recognize the richness of where we already are.“
Featuring Annie Norgarb.
Filmed in McGregor, South Africa by Reflections of Life
This is the second film that we’ve made together with Annie. In case you missed the first one, you can see it here – https://youtu.be/IuL-l2L_8Rk
Thank You for being a subscriber to Wildly Free Elder posts – or finding your way here through synchronicity! Through 2025 there will be regular posts on the 15th and 30th of each month. Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, reflections and wild creative endeavors to inspire others. Gaye Abbott (click here)**
If you don’t want to miss future posts simply sign up for the blog here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/ *When you receive your email remember to click on the title in order to see all images and videos posted on the post website.
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, 07/30/25
The Four Natural Sanctuaries
“Every moment is a teacher. Every breath a blessing. Time, not a straight line – but a circle, a rhythm older than memory.
Our elders remind me: the now is sacred. Not something to race through, but something to sit with, to feel, to honor.
The winds carry stories, the land holds prayers, and even silence has something to say, if we closely listen enough.
Grateful for the lessons hidden in plain sight. For the hardships that shape us, and the joys that remind us why we are here.
Today I walk slow. I offer thanks. Thank you. I recognize that this moment – this very one – will never come again.”
Navajo Nation
~Silence – hear our soul
Tears found their way down my face as I stood at the rim gazing out at the vastness of the Grand Canyon embracing the echoing silence. This was soul territory. A silent vast magnificence the indigenous elders held sacred.
In our noisy world of today filled with a human made cacophony of ever present sounds we lose the quiet voice of our soul, that deepest ever present part of us. In the moments that I was in communion with this sacred landscape time stood still and the silence bathed me, a reminder of wholeness and connection without interference.
Deeply connected to the elements who reside here, wrapped in the silence of Source.
Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA/Photography by Gaye Abbott
~Solitude – find our truth
There is loneliness….and then there is solitude. In one we often are sad and try to change it, and the other we seek out and then find who we are without life’s demands and chaos taking us from our center of being.
The sanctuary of Solitude is a gift we give to ourselves if we are blessed to be able to do so. When we have lost our way the truth of our choices is revealed when we seek out this sanctuary.
In the silence of solitude we listen to ourselves and may even ask questions of ourselves. We become the creek flowing down rock embraced by the vibrant green of nature. Breathe….
Western N. Carolina/Photography by Gaye Abbott
~Stillness – reconnect to presence
Labyrinths are created in the sacred geometry of spirals, never ending circles – natures call to being in each unfolding moment. Walking one step at a time the stillness of presence floods every cell in your body. There is no clutter of mind talk, but instead one step connected to one breath.
How often do we choose stillness over the endless call to do. It may surprise you to find a gift wrapped in the calm and peace of simply being present. Something you left by the wayside when you put on your human agendas and expectations.
Caught in a whirlwind of doing, surrender into stillness.
Weaverville, N. Carolina/Photography and Stone Spiral by Gaye Abbott
~Simplicity – remember what really matters
It is to the simple presence of water that I go when life feels much too complex and overwhelming. What lessons it teaches, this precious elemental resource that we cannot go without.
The science is clear: being near water is good for your mind, your body, and even your sense of connection to the world around you.
These healing environments, often called blue spaces, are being studied for their powerful role in reducing stress, boosting mood, and supporting long-term wellness. In an era of burnout, over-stimulation, and ecological disconnection, water may be of of our most overlooked allies.
Go to the sanctuary of water wherever it may flow to remember the simplicity of simply being.
Highlands, N. Carolina/Photography by Gaye Abbott
Thank You for being a subscriber to Wildly Free Elder posts – or finding your way here through synchronicity! Through 2025 there will be regular posts on the 15th and 30th of each month. Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, reflections and wild creative endeavors to inspire others. Gaye Abbott (click here)**
If you don’t want to miss future posts simply sign up for the blog here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/ *When you receive your email remember to click on the title in order to see all images and videos posted on the post website.
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, 06/15/25
In A Time of Destruction…
Nature Park, Weaverville, NC/Photography by Gaye Abbott
“In a time of destruction, create something. A poem. A parade. A community. A school. A vow. A moral principle. One peaceful moment.“
~Maxine Hong Kingston
I sit here looking out at the flowing River Birch outside my bedroom window with squirrels playing acrobatics across her limbs, taking in the symphony of birdsong and periodic cicadas unique to the Eastern U.S., the lush landscape of Western N. Carolina, and the relatively peaceful ambiance of a small Southern Blue Ridge Mountain town. This is my world in this moment.
When I started this post it was in my mind to dialog on “destruction and creation”. How there is a continuous dance between the two. However, yesterday I spoke to a very dear friend who lives in Edinburgh, Scotland who had just returned from western Ukraine in Lviv, close to the border of Poland, on an art/culture consulting project. His narrative about his experience dropped me down several depths into what I have never experienced first hand, but that millions of people in war torn countries experience every day. I was shaken by his first hand reflections on his experience.
To see hundreds of newly dug graves, witness one funeral procession after another down the main streets of the city, amputees navigating on crutches in town, to learn that mandatory conscription for males 25-60 was enforced, and that 25,000 Ukranian children had been taken by Russians to their country to possibly never be returned to their families.
As I understand through my friend, this area of Western Ukraine has not suffered direct bombing and destruction as other areas have but the psychological, emotional and physical impact of destruction is definitely there for the people of Ukraine, and will be for generations to come in this area not without air raid shelters. My friend was there to consult with the artists in multiple areas of endeavor on preserving and enhancing the culture and art that means so much to them. Their hospitality towards my friend was stunning. The desire for creation out of destruction compelling.
I share this with you not to point fingers at one country or another or discuss the devastation, inhumanity and morality of war, but as a reminder that one of the paths to healing from destruction is indeed creation. Nature does this constantly as I saw first hand post Hurricane Helene last September that hurled this area into devastation. The trauma is still held within the people and landscape here and the destruction will in some cases take generations to repair as with the downed trees. But out of this natural disaster has come the creativity and resilience to rebuild and to strengthen community.
Another example from nature, the Brood XIV periodical cicadas here in this area of Western N. Carolina right now that were mentioned above, are constantly present with their high pitched mate attracting sound during the day. Unlike annual cicadas, which appear every summer, periodical cicadas spend 13 or 17 years (depending on the species) underground as nymphs, feeding on tree roots.
After spending most of their life underground, (17 in this particular brood) they emerge en masse to molt, mate, and lay eggs before dying within a few weeks. Laying their eggs on the ends of tree branches before dying, those branches fall off delivering the nymphs onto the ground where they burrow back underground. The broken branches serve as natures way of pruning as new growth comes back to the trees in the Spring and the nymphs repeat the cycle of their parents. Creation, destruction/death and regeneration.
Periodic Cicada
It might be easy, and at times compelling, to concentrate our attention on the destruction happening in almost every facet of human and nature based life on this amazing interconnected planet of ours. Our media constantly broadcasts the negative and destructive forces in our face without any restriction or hesitation. Destruction is nothing new to the millions of years of life on this planet.
Yet, if we focus exclusively there we not only lose ourselves but forget what our contributions and offerings might be to the world. We forget that creation can be an antidote to destruction, opening pathways for our resilience and adaptability to dramatic changes and trauma. Does indeed arise out of destruction like a phoenix rising from the ashes.
Some would say it is a matter or perception. Like the post below by Eric Alan on Spacious, Not Desolate. Can we shift our perspective enough to shift destruction into creation or desolation into spaciousness?
It is not always easy….but we can find our way together.
| Spacious, Not Desolate by Eric Alan I’m driving south through landscapes some would call desolate, though I prefer to see them as spacious. I’ve left the dry lands of eastern Washington, where I’ve been assisting my partner in caring for her elderly mother after an injurious fall. I see herds of wild horses that populate the hills. I pass through outposts too tiny to earn the name “town.” I see surreal wind farms, their giant sleek windmills towering over the Columbia Gorge. I cross that great river, a natural feature that serves as the artificial border between Washington and Oregon. I slip south through the wide open landscape, changing states of mind as well as states on the map. This part of eastern Oregon is nearly a desert, though snow-capped mountains are in full view from too many miles away to even estimate. I see a ranch for sale so large—sixty-six thousand acres—that it takes me twenty minutes to pass the line of “for sale” signs. The scales of distance out here are vast. They give me beautiful room to breathe, roll, absorb family changes and challenges. The scales of distance within me become spaciously vast as well. I focus on a relativistic driving meditation that’s been part of my gratitude practice for many years: I am sitting still. The world is moving by me. No sight compels me to pause until I almost pass an abandoned church, sitting just off the roadside in another tiny outpost. After a moment’s hesitation nearly becomes a decision to continue south, I ease off the empty two-lane road and circle back to park near that old church. I think it might be Sunday, but I’m retired enough to not need to know. In any case, no congregation has come to congregate. The bell is missing from the tower. The stained glass is gone too. A slight breeze blows through the empty window frames; also through gaps in the roof where missing shingles have opened the inner church to the wider sky. Even the trees nearby are apparently dead. I look at the strange dignity and majesty of it all and think again: Spacious, not desolate. Lately I’ve been surrounded by stories of decline. Declining health in aging. Declining civility in society. Declining number of animals and plants in endangered species. Declining faith in the future of humanity, and in greater spirit beyond. And I decline to argue with any of those perceptions of decline, as stark as the evidence for many declines have been. Still, I look again at the missing church windows, then notice the grass silently restarting to grow up around it all. Spacious, not desolate. The persistent grass and grace remind me of a card I kept on my desk for many years. Barn’s burned down. Now I can see the moon. The inside of that card was blank, and I preferred it that way. I’d bought it as a remembrance, rather than to send to anyone. I have no idea what happened to that card now, but the perspective it gave me remains. Spacious, not desolate. I’ve had to learn to see spaciousness, in order to celebrate my own declining future, to which this moment will someday inevitably lead. I’ve had to learn to let the landscape within mirror the landscape beyond, especially in times when my inner life felt desolate. I’ve learned that we’re all spacious too, even then. There is room then for new life to grow, in forms beyond our imagination; forms we have no ability or need to control. Seeing spaciousness instead of desolation gives me faith in the persistence of nature and spirit. Yet neither faith nor belief are even needed, to notice the beauty within even our most difficult days. Nature’s steady ability to express new forms of vibrant growth is larger than all of our viewpoints combined. It transcends our times of decline and passing. I see all that in one abandoned church, built by people with a religion I don’t know, in a time I didn’t experience, in a place I’ll never live. And if I’m the only congregation this morning, no matter. Others will join over time, at a distance, in a place and way I’ll never see, to celebrate life’s persistence and regrowth—just as you do now in joining me in this moment. Spacious, not desolate. As I leave the church behind, I celebrate that it’s always this way. The light on the distant mountains is newly enlightening, ever changing across the miles. Eric Alan is an author, photographer, meditation and workshop leader who has contributed to the Celebrate What is Right With the World project since 2011. His new book Grateful by Nature is now available from Wild Grace Press. His previous books include Wild Grace: Nature as a Spiritual Path, Grace and Tranquility, and This Is Our Time!. More information at http://www.ericalan.com, and eric@wildgrace.org. |
Thank You for being a subscriber to Wildly Free Elder posts – or finding your way here through synchronicity! Through 2025 there will be regular posts on the 15th and 30th of each month. Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, reflections and wild creative endeavors to inspire others. Gaye Abbott (click here)**
If you don’t want to miss future posts simply sign up for the blog here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/ *When you receive your email remember to click on the title in order to see all images and videos posted on the post website.
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, 06/03/25
WILDLY FREE ELDER 