WILDLY FREE ELDER
The Artistry of Aging
Over 70 – Elderhood In Action!
Having just finished the 4 episode “Stories of A Generation with Pope Francis” it seemed appropriate to share it with the Wildly Free Elder community. We don’t often hear about how every day elders of a certain age are impacting and inspiring others unless they are on the more well known or famous side.
I was thrilled to see that many of these elders are not known widely with a few exceptions. Multiply this by thousands across the world and you have Elderhood In Action. Wise, devoted, passionate, compassionate, creative, daring, collaboratively working together, and in some cases never giving up, we do indeed make a difference.
For a synopsis of the episodes please see below the Trailer video. Well worth the time and attention.
Perhaps you will be inspired!
“Over a year of filming across the globe to tell 18 stories of people over 70. Why? Because there are lives that can inspire our own.”
SYNOPSIS (From Catholic Review): “Based on the pope’s 2018 book “Sharing the Wisdom of Time,” published by Loyola Press, the program showcases stories from people over 70 from all quarters of the globe, including the pontiff himself, as they impart their life experiences to youthful filmmakers. Each of its four hourlong episodes is devoted to a central theme: “Love,” “Dreams,” “Struggle” and “Work.”
There are a few famous names in the lineup, such as Martin Scorsese and Jane Goodall. But most of those who appear on screen, under the overall direction of Simona Ercolani, have never lived in the limelight.
Under the heading of “Love,” we’re introduced to Estela Barnes de Carlotto, a 90-year-old woman from Argentina who spent decades looking for her grandson after her daughter was killed during the unrest of the 1970s in that country. More recently, Vito Forino, 72, went for a sail from his home in Lampedusa, Italy, in 2013 and ended up rescuing 47 people from a sinking refugee ship.
One of those classified as a dreamer is New Zealand climate scientist Dave Lowe. Together with a group of other scholars, Lowe won a Nobel Prize for being the first to measure increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the Southern Hemisphere in 1972.
Costa Rican Danilo Mena Hernandez, 76, has a more personal dream. He yearns for his blind and developmentally disabled twin sons to be able to feel sand between their toes and the ocean waves lapping at their feet.
Sports enthusiasts are not left out — as shown by the stories of an 88-year-old skydiver who learned the skill from her son and a 77-year-old surfer who thought he could ride a tsunami.
Remorse finds its place in the show as well. Asked by his youngest daughter what his greatest regret is, Scorsese responds, “I would have liked to help raise my other daughters,” thus acknowledging that his film career often took precedence over his family life.
The episode on “Struggle” is particularly moving. Gisèle Assoud Sabbagh, 87, for instance, was born in Aleppo, Syria, but was forced to flee to Beirut. Now, she faces yet another upheaval, having to leave her home and the friends she’s made in Beirut to live with her daughter and grandson in France.
As for “Work,” Mexican midwife Natalia Echeverría Fuentevilla reflects on the satisfaction she derives from knowing that she has helped bring thousands of babies into the world during her lifetime. Ninety-year-old Vietnamese cobbler Trinh Ngoc recalls making shoes for the king of Cambodia in the 1950s. And Nike Okundaye, 70, a Nigerian artist and fashion designer, discusses the freedom her profession gave her. “
If you don’t want to miss future posts simply sign up for the blog here:
https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/
You can find ALL of the 31-Days of Joy & Laughter Project posts in the archives here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/2021/12/
Gaye Abbott, Natural Passages Consulting, 1/3/22. Please feel free to share this post and link to WildlyFreeElder
Considering a move? Finding Home: Conscious Relocation Services by Gaye Abbott
DAY 31: Joy In Life
I am filled with gratitude as I write this last post in the “31- Days of Joy and Laughter Project” and concurrently complete a 6-day self directed personal retreat to end the year. As all of these posts came from trusting the unfolding in each day – not planned agenda – today’s post reflects that magical synchronicity that constantly fills my life to over flowing.
My email inbox showed the perfect video from Green Renaissance – two film makers in South Africa whom I have been following for some time now and support their conscious film making by a small donation each month through Patreon. When I saw the title, “Joy In Life” my laughter filled the space around me.
The 90-year-young joyful, transparent man – Sarel – highlighted in this video, fully believes that life itself is a wonderful gift. That we should say “I love you” and “I appreciate you” more during our life moments. Bringing forth the joy in life instead of the sorrow had him backpacking up to base camp at Mount Everest at age 82! “Use it or lose it” he states emphatically.
I will leave you to listen to and watch this delightful elder in the video below, but before I do I want to close with some awareness I have gained from this 31-day project. There were some days that I did not trust there would be anything to write about.
It was just those days that dropped me into greater trust. To pay even closer attention to opportunities for sharing laughter, joy and play. And guess what? Something always emerged though it may not have been my “best” writing. Simply connecting, and sharing joy and humor with you the reader were the daily gifts and the blessings.
I also noticed that I became more attuned to that energy in each and every day. Less attention on the negative news of the day or the most recent social media posts and a great deal more attention on life moments themselves to connect with others, be curious and explore the natural world.
The last 6 days of inhabiting a concurrent self directed personal retreat space added to quieting the mind and opening my heart. Laughing more and worrying less. Realizing how precious the moments of our embodied lives and what power we have to shift consciousness and enhance well being by simply sharing joy and laughter.
So I go out sharing with you two intended acts of kindness and one spontaneous sharing of laughter that happened today. Gifting Dark Chocolate Pomegranate Bark (See Sweet Surrender – Day 9) to the butcher who always welcomed me with smiles and friendly banter when I first moved here 9 months ago, which of course was accompanied with a hug. Another container of “Bark” to the local woman owned wine and cheese place two blocks walking distance from my house in appreciation for their presence in my life and in our community. Oh, and for the great wine and cheese selections too!
Then improv spontaneous comedy – we could have been an act! A produce person at my local natural food store was unpacking the vegetables and settling them in their respective places. I happened to glance down at the most amazingly LARGE daikon radishes I have ever seen. I exclaimed to him how large they were and he of course said he could cut one down for me. I then said it could be used as a weapon. He laughed and I rifted away saying “woman dies by produce man hitting her over head with daikon radish at Whole Foods in Asheville, N. Carolina. Produce man still at large….”. We both started laughing while the daikon radish stayed very silent. 🙂 He was lucky I didn’t start singing to the vegetables as I once did when living in California!
As I slowly come back to “regular life” I realize that is exactly what I have been engaged with. Extraordinary life moments one after another, some challenging and filled with emotion, and others tempting me to dance my way down the street in the pure joy of simply living.
Yesterday, learning that Archbishop Desmond Tutu passed away on 12/26 (I was off of all news feeds), I at first experienced great sadness. His long life and presence was filled with humor, laughter, love and a passion for bringing people together in unity and equality. I believe his legacy lives on in all of us.
I will never forget dancing with him on the stage of a Global Healing Conference in Bali, Indonesia and listening to his keynote address which started with the humor he was known for. “What people will remember me for are three things. My short last name, my very large nose, and my great legs!” Of course the audience of hundreds from 80 countries around the world laughed with him and in that moment of coming together in joyful expression knew well that this humor opened us more to each other and to the collaborative healing work we were all to do in the world. Go forth and multiply……
DON’T POSTPONE JOY!
From Green Renaissance:
“Joy is what makes life beautiful. It’s what gets us through challenges and allows light in to illuminate the shadows. Joy heals our wounds and fills our souls with goodness.
By reminding yourself of the things you have to be happy about, by creating more time to do the things you love and by spending time with the people you care about, you can create a life that is more joyful and fulfilling. And you will see and experience life through different eyes.
In this new year, why not resolve to find more joy in your everyday life!
Happy 2022 wishes to you all – may the year ahead be filled with memories and experiences that make your heart smile.”
With love, Justine and Michael.
Filmed in Montagu, South Africa.
Featuring Sarel van Rensburg.
SUPPORT JUSTINE & MICHAEL IN “EXPLORING OUR SHARED HUMANITY” BY DONATION THROUGH PATREON HERE: https://www.greenrenaissance.co.za/
About 31 Days of Joy & Laughter Project:
As elders with a long life behind us and not as much embodied life before us, and as humans on the planet Earth at this time, we are being faced with incredible challenges that compete to take our attention.
A couple of days ago I realized I no longer choose to have my attention taken by the fear, doom and gloom broadcast daily, whether on our smart phones news feed or while talking to others. I am weary of it all and need a higher vibration energy bath!.
It is not that I don’t want to know what is happening in the world, but instead the question I am posing to myself, and to you, every day is – where do we want to place our attention? We most always have a choice.
For the month of December I am placing attention on joy, laughter, creativity and acts of kindness as a experiment to see what unfolds. Seeking out and being aware of moments of joy sometimes hidden in the deep pockets and lining of each and every day that seem to get passed over without even looking back. They are always there.
Each day in December you will find a small nugget of joy, humor, creativity or small act of kindness that found me and pulled my attention which will be posted here. I invite you to join me and share your experiences and what you noticed so that we may spread it around! (Please use the “Comment” section below).
If you don’t want to miss future posts simply sign up for the blog here:
https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/
You can also find ALL of the 31-Days of Joy & Laughter Project posts in the archives here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/2021/12/
Gaye Abbott, Natural Passages Consulting, 12/31/21. Please feel free to share this post and link to WildlyFreeElder
Considering a move? Finding Home: Conscious Relocation Services by Gaye Abbott
DAY 30: “Kindness Is My Super Power”
Passing along kindness, smiles and sharing laughter comes from the heart and compassion of simply being human….. and intimately interconnected. One might not realize because of our focus on mainstream media that this goes on every single second around the world, but it does.
On this next to last day of the 31-Days of Joy and Laughter Project the article from Good News, along with the video below, came to my attention. It sparked something within me. That part who consciously chooses to participate in one act of kindness and share laughter/humor with at least one person every time I go out into my community. A practice I have taken to heart for many years now and benefited greatly from.
Though it doesn’t always happen, when it does the kindness or humor shared invariably shifts my perspective and almost always opens connection and possibility for and with others.
It is a simple practice. I find an open heart, self trust and a keen awareness ever present for opportunities important. A willingness to leap out of your own concerns to embrace another living being with your kind and curious attention. Most often it is spontaneous and in the moment, but sometimes there is a specific intention set.
If a wise being, perhaps your “guardian angel” as in the classic movie “It’s A Wonderful Life”, showed you how impactful your kindness was and what a difference it made in others lives you would make a vow to be ever aware and practice daily. And of course help your guardian angel to get his wings!
You may never know the impact it will have, but that is part of the mystery that keeps kindness energy going. Actually, Jimmy Stewart in that movie, in real life, had just returned from combat in WWII with PTSD, or as they called it then “shell shock”. The scene where he breaks down crying as he was seriously considering suicide was very, very real for him.
Sebbie Hall in the video below vowed at the beginning of the pandemic to help young people who are isolated because of disadvantage/disability by doing daily acts of kindness for random strangers. This eventually turned out to positively impact many lives, including Sebbie’s, and turned into the Just Giving organization in the UK.
“Sebbie has a rare chromosome anomaly resulting in learning and physical difficulties. Doctors said he would never walk or talk. Seb spent his life watching others achieve whilst he struggled with normal daily life skills. Sebbie has achieved kindness. The greatest achievement of all.”
Good News Article about Sebbie: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/teen-has-performed-a-random-act-of-kindness-every-day-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic/
“Kindness is my Super Power” as Sebbie says. Absolutely! Pass it on…..
About 31 Days of Joy & Laughter Project:
As elders with a long life behind us and not as much embodied life before us, and as humans on the planet Earth at this time, we are being faced with incredible challenges that compete to take our attention.
A couple of days ago I realized I no longer choose to have my attention taken by the fear, doom and gloom broadcast daily, whether on our smart phones news feed or while talking to others. I am weary of it all and need a higher vibration energy bath!.
It is not that I don’t want to know what is happening in the world, but instead the question I am posing to myself, and to you, every day is – where do we want to place our attention? We most always have a choice.
For the month of December I am placing attention on joy, laughter, creativity and acts of kindness as a experiment to see what unfolds. Seeking out and being aware of moments of joy sometimes hidden in the deep pockets and lining of each and every day that seem to get passed over without even looking back. They are always there.
Each day in December you will find a small nugget of joy, humor, creativity or small act of kindness that found me and pulled my attention which will be posted here. I invite you to join me and share your experiences and what you noticed so that we may spread it around! (Please use the “Comment” section below).
If you don’t want to miss any of these posts simply sign up for the blog here:
https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/
You can also find all of the posts in the archives here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/2021/12/
Gaye Abbott, Natural Passages Consulting, 12/30/21. Please feel free to share this post and link to WildlyFreeElder
Considering a move? Finding Home: Conscious Relocation Services by Gaye Abbott
DAY 29: WILDLY FREE BREATH
This morning in my writing practice I realized that I had left behind my passion for so many years. In fact, this day i decided was to be devoted to that passion. To rediscover and explore. To find joy again in the simple act of breathing in and out. To place attention and focus there.
The post below was taken from my Breathing Spaces blog and was published in 2016. Re-reading it this morning was a reminder to spend this day of my personal retreat accessing that primal body within that finds joy in simply breathing fully.
I invite you to join me in returning to your wild uninhibited breath….
The intelligence of the body – if you but tap into it for a moment in time – will bring to light all matter of holdings, contractions, numbed out and hidden places, that are crying out for attention, space and light.
Our instinctual body knows exactly how to breathe and move with optimal grace and fluidity – like the moon shining without telling it to. You, as a piece of the moving, breathing natural world – as the landscape you walk upon. Have you forgotten?
Can you feel the vibration of life force – prana – that is moving through you? If not then the opportunity is here to awaken and enliven the very cells of your being with breath.
If you are still long enough, in your solitude and silence, opening the senses wide – the inner and outer landscape comes alive with sounds, smells, sensation, vision, and perceptive entwined relating. This is your body in primal aliveness. A shifting art piece that is endlessly fascinating and continually changing.
As the ancient contractions release the body opens to a wild inhale of erotic desire – a desire so strong that we realize in an instant why we have shut it down. Permission to inhabit the yearnings of the body to be wild and free has not been granted for so many years….perhaps lifetimes.
These instinctual longings beg for life until Time stands still, bows down before you and prays for forgiveness. Forgiveness for capturing you in it’s sticky net of illusion. That you couldn’t simply embody moments by setting free the uninhibited breath – but instead were coerced to rush breathless into the moments that aren’t even here yet.
What a great loss it is to lose our wild primal aliveness. For it is here that we learn what it is like to be breathed. To lose all sense of control and certainty and deeply, erotically reconnect – like a lover with it’s beloved – to the Divine nature of simply inhaling and exhaling.
Becoming one with the breath that is breathing us all.
Our life force shimmers like a star in the heavens that even many years after it’s death remains brilliant with light.
Must we shut down on the vibrancy of our body that is housed in the soul of our very Being?
Were we really placed here to have our heads down and our eyes scanning a screen….or encased and belted into 3,000 pounds of metal and plastic, so disconnected from the earth that gives us breath…..and is breathing with and within us.
Or….are we here to delight in the simple and wild pleasure of breathing in….
and breathing out.
(http://breathingspaces.net/2016/02/20/wildly-free-breath/)
About 31 Days of Joy & Laughter Project:
As elders with a long life behind us and not as much embodied life before us, and as humans on the planet Earth at this time, we are being faced with incredible challenges that compete to take our attention.
A couple of days ago I realized I no longer choose to have my attention taken by the fear, doom and gloom broadcast daily, whether on our smart phones news feed or while talking to others. I am weary of it all and need a higher vibration energy bath!.
It is not that I don’t want to know what is happening in the world, but instead the question I am posing to myself, and to you, every day is – where do we want to place our attention? We most always have a choice.
For the month of December I am placing attention on joy, laughter, creativity and acts of kindness as a experiment to see what unfolds. Seeking out and being aware of moments of joy sometimes hidden in the deep pockets and lining of each and every day that seem to get passed over without even looking back. They are always there.
Each day in December you will find a small nugget of joy, humor, creativity or small act of kindness that found me and pulled my attention which will be posted here. I invite you to join me and share your experiences and what you noticed so that we may spread it around! (Please use the “Comment” section below).
If you don’t want to miss any of these posts simply sign up for the blog here:
https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/
You can also find all of the posts in the archives here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/2021/12/
Gaye Abbott, Natural Passages Consulting, 12/29/21. Please feel free to share this post and link to WildlyFreeElder
Considering a move? Finding Home: Conscious Relocation Services by Gaye Abbott
DAY 28: A Simple “Lick of Affection”
Bent Creek Trail, Asheville, N. Carolina
It was a day of kindness and compassion towards others and as I found along the way of my hike – myself. This week long self directed “retreat” was to be for leaving outside distractions behind and settling into a space of clearing and discovery.
Although the days have not been “planned” I had thought I would at least get a sense of what the New Year would hold for livelihood, explore my own creativity a bit, and commune with nature. What has unfolded thus far, and continues to, is a fall from the grace of knowing anything.
A feeling of being battered by the back lash of the pandemic. The divisiveness, fear, judgement, inconsistencies, profound loss and social unrest has taken its toll. A toll, the depth of which I was not completely aware of until I simply stopped perusing social media and my phones news feed, as well as withdrawing from the community I have created over the last 9 months of living in N. Carolina.
And so it was that I took myself out to the N.Carolina Arboretum to hike the trails and commune with nature. The joy and laughter that I was to write about each day alluded me. Feeling lonely and somehow disconnected I put on my backpack to hike the trail down to Bent Creek and started the walk to the trailhead.
Coming towards me was a man and as he got closer I saw a warning face. Out of his mouth came “be careful, there is a woman with crazy dogs up there” at which I inquired “Really?” as I heard the bark of dogs up above.
A huge smile then broke out on his face and I knew in that moment that he was spinning a story for our mutual benefit. When I reached the woman and dogs I told her that her husband just said to me to be aware of the woman with the crazy dogs and laughter with a short conversation broke out between us.
A moment of connection. A persuasion to lighten up myself.
Walking among the mostly barren trees on this trail encouraged me to strip down to deeper layers of protection and surrender them. Calmed by the sound of the creek far below the loneliness started to abate and the embrace of nature held me.
Stepping to the side of the trail as I saw a couple and their medium sized black dog with a bright red checked kerchief around his neck I smiled as they came nearer directing my attentive energy towards the dog in greeting. My hands at my side I gazed up at the couple taking him for a walk.
And then it happened. This affectionate doggie took a moment to give me three licks on my dangling hand while passing by and I almost cried. The woman in the couple laughed softly and I received what dogs give most readily and freely – affection.
That one moment in time shifted me. Acknowledging that one of the things I have missed the most during the last two years of mandated lock downs and human based fear and anxiety has been touch and simple affection.
Sitting by Bent Creek watching the water cascade down rocks from a bench placed perfectly to do so, I fell into the mindful playfulness of the water. That it was in flow and connected with nature’s rhythms as to its destination. Where was I in all of this? Living in that question is all that I can do now.
On the wrong trail to get back to the parking lot I walked an extra distance. Not really lost, but taking a path I thought took me to my destination, and being given the opportunity to go where I had not gone before. A moment of frustration….and then self compassion. Something I recognized as essential for mental, emotional and physical health – overall well being – through these extraordinarily stressful times.
Just before I reached the parking lot there were two women coming down the trail. One had a very cute what I call “Benji” dog on a leash and as they passed I said “what a cutie”. As the woman thanked me I said to her retreating back, “and you too!”. Both women laughed and the one said “I really needed that today.”
And so it is. the giving and receiving of “licks of affection”.
About 31 Days of Joy & Laughter Project:
As elders with a long life behind us and not as much embodied life before us, and as humans on the planet Earth at this time, we are being faced with incredible challenges that compete to take our attention.
A couple of days ago I realized I no longer choose to have my attention taken by the fear, doom and gloom broadcast daily, whether on our smart phones news feed or while talking to others. I am weary of it all and need a higher vibration energy bath!.
It is not that I don’t want to know what is happening in the world, but instead the question I am posing to myself, and to you, every day is – where do we want to place our attention? We most always have a choice.
For the month of December I am placing attention on joy, laughter, creativity and acts of kindness as a experiment to see what unfolds. Seeking out and being aware of moments of joy sometimes hidden in the deep pockets and lining of each and every day that seem to get passed over without even looking back. They are always there.
Each day in December you will find a small nugget of joy, humor, creativity or small act of kindness that found me and pulled my attention which will be posted here. I invite you to join me and share your experiences and what you noticed so that we may spread it around! (Please use the “Comment” section below).
If you don’t want to miss any of these posts simply sign up for the blog here:
https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/
You can also find all of the posts in the archives here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/2021/12/
Gaye Abbott, Natural Passages Consulting, 12/28/21. Please feel free to share this post and link to WildlyFreeElder
Considering a move? Finding Home: Conscious Relocation Services by Gaye Abbott
DAY 27: Enough Is A “Precious” Feast
“In a gentle way you can shake the world.” ~Mahatma Gandhi
Attending to life is a sacred act of love.
Three years ago I visited my home town of San Diego, California in the beach area of Ocean Beach/Point Loma where I was born, raised and brought three sons into the world – with the purpose of spending time with family still living there.
It was like living my life backwards with so many memories arising as I walked my old haunts and the hard packed sand at the waters edge. On one of these walks I reflected on my entry experience at the airport a day before.
Since it had been decades since I flew into San Diego I found the airport not only larger, but more complex in an organized way. One of the improvements being that car rentals were now in one building in back of the airport. To reach this building one needed to ride the 11-minute shuttle to get there.
As the door opened for the shuttle bus I was to ride a beautiful elder African American woman stepped down from the front of the bus onto the sidewalk with a huge smile on her face and greeted us all with an immense inviting and loving energy, calling us “precious” as she took our luggage and lifted it into the designated spots within the bus.
As another woman sat down next to me she turned and with a smile on her face said to me, “I’ve never been called precious before!” In just that one gentle way our bus driver had opened up and connected this woman to herself and to me.
It did not stop there! Once the bus was loaded and the driver had greeted everyone and stowed their luggage we were under way to the car rental building. As you know, travel can be stressful and sometimes the purpose of individual’s travel can run the gamut from vacation to attending to immense challenges they may be faced with.
The driver greeted us on the PA system, asked how all of us were doing – waiting for our responses, and then proceeded to tell us a little about San Diego and what we were passing by on our short journey.
In the silence that followed this everyone on the bus all of a sudden started hearing oldies songs, like Moon River, that were whistled over the speaker system…..by our entertaining bus driver. And she was good!
Following that she invited us to sing children’s songs that she probably sang with her grandchildren, and which most everyone on the bus had sung as a child. We went the gamut from “The Wheels on the Bus Go Round & Round” to “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and finally to “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” (with animal suggestions from her captive audience) .
Next on the agenda she challenged anyone who wanted to participate to say tongue twisters with her….and one man from New Zealand standing on the bus with a very large box took it on and succeeded with the most lovely accent!
At this point we were just about to our destination. As I looked around all of the passengers were smiling and connecting with each other. The entire energy on the bus had changed. We were connected and enjoying the few moments it took us to get to our destination, the stress of travel forgotten.
As everyone stepped down from the bus our driver handed us our luggage from where it was stowed with a huge smile. I thanked her for such an entertaining and community connected trip with a shared connected smile.
This woman had engaged us in the short moments we were all together and created something extraordinary from a job and 11 minutes together that could have been quite ordinary simply getting us where we needed to be.
Enough was indeed a feast!
When we as individuals question whether we are good enough, or simply enough, we are caught in the entanglement of either cultures expectations, or our very own patterns and perfectionism.
What would it be like to simply let go of those expectations, a diagnosis, labels or identities – and discover who we are as extraordinary, wise and creative beings within our unique artistry in any given ordinary moment?
Perhaps we shall find that in honoring our “being enough” it takes us from the ordinary to the extraordinary.
Gently Shake the World and Create A Feast!
About 31 Days of Joy & Laughter Project:
As elders with a long life behind us and not as much embodied life before us, and as humans on the planet Earth at this time, we are being faced with incredible challenges that compete to take our attention.
A couple of days ago I realized I no longer choose to have my attention taken by the fear, doom and gloom broadcast daily, whether on our smart phones news feed or while talking to others. I am weary of it all and need a higher vibration energy bath!.
It is not that I don’t want to know what is happening in the world, but instead the question I am posing to myself, and to you, every day is – where do we want to place our attention? We most always have a choice.
For the month of December I am placing attention on joy, laughter, creativity and acts of kindness as a experiment to see what unfolds. Seeking out and being aware of moments of joy sometimes hidden in the deep pockets and lining of each and every day that seem to get passed over without even looking back. They are always there.
Each day in December you will find a small nugget of joy, humor, creativity or small act of kindness that found me and pulled my attention which will be posted here. I invite you to join me and share your experiences and what you noticed so that we may spread it around! (Please use the “Comment” section below).
If you don’t want to miss any of these posts simply sign up for the blog here:
https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/
You can also find all of the posts in the archives here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/2021/12/
Gaye Abbott, Natural Passages Consulting, 12/27/21. Please feel free to share this post and link to WildlyFreeElder
Considering a move? Finding Home: Conscious Relocation Services by Gaye Abbott
DAY 26: Acceptance With Compassion
Sunrise Blue Ridge Mountains, 12/26/21, Western N. Carolina, Photo by Gaye Abbott
“When you discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.”
Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen
This last week of the year has always held a sacred fascination for me. Filled with endings and beginnings I have always wanted to take it as a self directed personal retreat, and so I have. Although I was tempted to end these posts for the year guidance has me opening to the possibility of taking you along on the journey with me.
As I witnessed the sunrise this morning, changing in every moment, it felt like the reality of what it is to be embodied as human.
From a wider perspective, accepting life in all its pain, imperfection and beauty our stress and anxiety has the potential to shift us from expectations of how our life should be to acceptance of what is happening now. This creates a spaciousness for curiosity about what might happen next.
Accepting the unfolding of life and embracing reality with gratitude. Being aware of the possibilities and opportunities that emerge.
I consistently find this easier said than practiced in any given moment.
Reflecting back on the struggles, pain and loss in my own life I realize that without them I would not be who I am today with compassion, generosity of heart and an unquenchable curiosity about and for life. This somehow makes it easier to have a wider perspective on the challenges I, and all of us, face now.
The smell of cinnamon and baking apples permeates my small home sanctuary in this moment. Do I stop writing for some deep breaths of this ambrosia or simply go on thinking about what I will write next. One action holds this moment as sacred and filled with extraordinary sensual pleasure, the other has that experience recede in the background while I plunge on with writing this post.
What did I just do in the moments after writing that last paragraph? I chose “being” over “doing”, savoring the sweet smells coming from the baking apples, opening the oven door to take a look – not quite done yet, walking around my small space and looking out all of the windows to see the emerging day from many perspectives….and then taking the beautiful apples filled with cinnamon, butter, raisins and nuts out of the oven when done and savoring each textured and nuanced bite of one single apple draped with coconut yogurt.
Finishing this post before I indulged the nourishment of my body and soul would not have brought the joy I found in those moments. In fact I am still enjoying those moments as I end here….
About 31 Days of Joy & Laughter Project:
As elders with a long life behind us and not as much embodied life before us, and as humans on the planet Earth at this time, we are being faced with incredible challenges that compete to take our attention.
A couple of days ago I realized I no longer choose to have my attention taken by the fear, doom and gloom broadcast daily, whether on our smart phones news feed or while talking to others. I am weary of it all and need a higher vibration energy bath!.
It is not that I don’t want to know what is happening in the world, but instead the question I am posing to myself, and to you, every day is – where do we want to place our attention? We most always have a choice.
For the month of December I am placing attention on joy, laughter, creativity and acts of kindness as a experiment to see what unfolds. Seeking out and being aware of moments of joy sometimes hidden in the deep pockets and lining of each and every day that seem to get passed over without even looking back. They are always there.
Each day in December you will find a small nugget of joy, humor, creativity or small act of kindness that found me and pulled my attention which will be posted here. I invite you to join me and share your experiences and what you noticed so that we may spread it around! (Please use the “Comment” section below).
If you don’t want to miss any of these posts simply sign up for the blog here:
https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/
You can also find all of the posts in the archives here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/2021/12/
Gaye Abbott, Natural Passages Consulting, 12/26/21. Please feel free to share this post and link to WildlyFreeElder
Considering a move? Finding Home: Conscious Relocation Services by Gaye Abbott
DAY 25: Come Out and Play!
“You are not meant to be like others. You are not meant to fit in. Break free from who you think you ‘should’ be, and become childlike again!”
~vince Gowmon
Childlike again! This time of year is filled with the energy of play, laughter and wonder. I thought a simple playful post today, when many of you are with families for the holidays, would be perfect.
So I leave you as I listen to Soulful Holiday music (yes, I am an R & B, soul and gospel fan), dance around my living room, make cast iron skillet cornbread to take to a friends house, while nipping a bit of dark chocolate pomegranate bark – oh yes, I am a bit naughty! 🙂 ….but nice!
Embrace life’s infinite playground….
“Play is a beautiful, creative and powerful part of who we are. In this fun and inspiring video, you will be joyously reminded of the deeper purpose and gift of play. Watch how people express their playful spirit, and learn how play connects us to our Self, the heart of children, and the larger interplay of life.”
~Vince Gowmon
About 31 Days of Joy & Laughter Project:
As elders with a long life behind us and not as much embodied life before us, and as humans on the planet Earth at this time, we are being faced with incredible challenges that compete to take our attention.
A couple of days ago I realized I no longer choose to have my attention taken by the fear, doom and gloom broadcast daily, whether on our smart phones news feed or while talking to others. I am weary of it all and need a higher vibration energy bath!.
It is not that I don’t want to know what is happening in the world, but instead the question I am posing to myself, and to you, every day is – where do we want to place our attention? We most always have a choice.
For the month of December I am placing attention on joy, laughter, creativity and acts of kindness as a experiment to see what unfolds. Seeking out and being aware of moments of joy sometimes hidden in the deep pockets and lining of each and every day that seem to get passed over without even looking back. They are always there.
Each day in December you will find a small nugget of joy, humor, creativity or small act of kindness that found me and pulled my attention which will be posted here. I invite you to join me and share your experiences and what you noticed so that we may spread it around! (Please use the “Comment” section below).
If you don’t want to miss any of these posts simply sign up for the blog here:
https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/
You can also find all of the posts in the archives here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/2021/12/
Gaye Abbott, Natural Passages Consulting, 12/25/21. Please feel free to share this post and link to WildlyFreeElder
Considering a move? Finding Home: Conscious Relocation Services by Gaye Abbott
DAY 24: A Bit of Light Magic
Winter Lights, N. Carolina Arboretum, Asheville, NC
Awe, wonder and a bit of dancing around, just like the young child close to us, as we walked into the Winter Lights show outdoors at the N. Carolina Arboretum. What pure magic awaited us as we walked through hundreds of displays in the gardens spontaneously singing with the music and certainly with smiles on our faces the entire time!
“When children pretend, they’re using their imaginations to move beyond the bounds of reality. A stick can be a magic wand. A sock can be a puppet. A small child can be a superhero.”
~Fred Rogers
It felt like being catapulted over the rainbow to the Emerald City or being dropped into a Candy Land game. At one point I could have sworn we were in Wonderland with Alice.
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”
C.S. Lewis
There was just no room at all for seriousness, but huge spaciousness for absolute joy, wonder and awe. Bringing us back to the child within…..
“to that part of us who never forgot the importance of laughing for no particular reason, of imagining far beyond what the rational mind can comprehend, and of sitting in wonder at the miracle we wake to every day.” ~Vince Gowmon
We all have magic inside of us that, if we allow it, transforms our everyday existence into precious moments to see beyond the barriers of conventional mainstream thinking and doing….
and into the wildness of being.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
~Albert Einstein
Now and again it is good to pause in our pursuit of joy and just be joyful. To see the world through the eyes of the child like wonder that is always inside the heart forever.
When we lose our way, and we will, simply see the threshold before you….
…and enter into the magic of all things….
About 31 Days of Joy & Laughter Project:
As elders with a long life behind us and not as much embodied life before us, and as humans on the planet Earth at this time, we are being faced with incredible challenges that compete to take our attention.
A couple of days ago I realized I no longer choose to have my attention taken by the fear, doom and gloom broadcast daily, whether on our smart phones news feed or while talking to others. I am weary of it all and need a higher vibration energy bath!.
It is not that I don’t want to know what is happening in the world, but instead the question I am posing to myself, and to you, every day is – where do we want to place our attention? We most always have a choice.
For the month of December I am placing attention on joy, laughter, creativity and acts of kindness as a experiment to see what unfolds. Seeking out and being aware of moments of joy sometimes hidden in the deep pockets and lining of each and every day that seem to get passed over without even looking back. They are always there.
Each day in December you will find a small nugget of joy, humor, creativity or small act of kindness that found me and pulled my attention which will be posted here. I invite you to join me and share your experiences and what you noticed so that we may spread it around! (Please use the “Comment” section below).
If you don’t want to miss any of these posts simply sign up for the blog here:
https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/
You can also find all of the posts in the archives here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/2021/12/
Gaye Abbott, Natural Passages Consulting, 12/24/21. Please feel free to share this post and link to WildlyFreeElder
Considering a move? Finding Home: Conscious Relocation Services by Gaye Abbott
DAY 23: Bare Limb Wild Dance
Tree Community Dance, Nature Park, Weaverville, N. Carolina
Having spent most of my life with palm trees in Southern California or evergreens of some sort in Northern California the bare limb Winter hardwoods of Western N. Carolina are bewitching me.
Have you ever just taken a walk to be with nature in such a way that you became part of the wild dance?
That is what happened today in the short time I spent simply placing my attention on the dance of the trees. As all kinds of dance and movement has held a primary focus in my life, especially free form and contact improv, I couldn’t help but become part of the “bare limb wild dance” around me.
Something you don’t really see when they are dressed with leaves. Something we don’t often allow ourselves.
To move and connect with wild freedom in life, unattached to what others may think of us.
Sometimes we feel like intimacy is called for
and other times some undulation all by ourselves….
embracing the sun in our arms…
Bare beauty, vulnerable and transparent, teaching us how to inhabit the wild joyful dance of life….
About 31 Days of Joy & Laughter Project:
As elders with a long life behind us and not as much embodied life before us, and as humans on the planet Earth at this time, we are being faced with incredible challenges that compete to take our attention.
A couple of days ago I realized I no longer choose to have my attention taken by the fear, doom and gloom broadcast daily, whether on our smart phones news feed or while talking to others. I am weary of it all and need a higher vibration energy bath!.
It is not that I don’t want to know what is happening in the world, but instead the question I am posing to myself, and to you, every day is – where do we want to place our attention? We most always have a choice.
For the month of December I am placing attention on joy, laughter, creativity and acts of kindness as a experiment to see what unfolds. Seeking out and being aware of moments of joy sometimes hidden in the deep pockets and lining of each and every day that seem to get passed over without even looking back. They are always there.
Each day in December you will find a small nugget of joy, humor, creativity or small act of kindness that found me and pulled my attention which will be posted here. I invite you to join me and share your experiences and what you noticed so that we may spread it around! (Please use the “Comment” section below).
If you don’t want to miss any of these posts simply sign up for the blog here:
https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/blog/
You can also find all of the posts in the archives here: https://wildlyfreeelder.wordpress.com/2021/12/
Gaye Abbott, Natural Passages Consulting, 12/23/21. Please feel free to share this post and link to WildlyFreeElder
WILDLY FREE ELDER 