WILDLY FREE ELDER
The Artistry of Aging
Category: Artistry of Aging
Day 2/Elder Muse: Seek Silence
“What does silence mean to you? Is it something you fear and fill up with distractions? Or is it something you actively seek as an antidote to a stressful life? Visiting silence can be an adventure, a life changing journey into peace and quiet. In silence we can hear our own thoughts. Silence speaks for the part of life that is beyond words. There is space, inner freedom and creativity. We find a place within us that is centered, a place of trust. As the noisy demands of daily life make us shrink inside, in silence we expand. Don’t underestimate the power of silence.”
The Wisdom of Not Knowing
“:Driving home from a temporary job yesterday I was weary and looked forward to arriving home to a friends home where I was house sitting for the week. Then it happened all in an instant.
A brilliant rainbow presented in the sky over the Blue Ridge mountain range entwined with buckets of rain pouring down scattered here and there making driving a bit treacherous. I so wanted….”
The Door Is Wide Open – But Don’t Let The Old Man In
“Facing the fact of our own mortality is something we fall into intimacy with as we enter the elder years of our embodied life.
What is dignified aging? ….”
Letting Go of the End of the Rope
“We were standing in a circle all blindfolded. This was the beginning exercise of the ropes course that some of my “sole proprietor” business women friends and I had signed up for when I lived in Sonoma County, in Northern California.
If you have never done a ropes course it is quite an adventure and a test of courage, balance, trust, discovery, team support…..and willingness to let go and try something that you may never have done before (and may not ever do again!).
Granted this was decades ago I did this, but my body still remembers the experience. More about the standing in the circle blind folded in a moment…..”
Grounding Anchors In A Crazy World
“I find it is not easy these days to find a space of well being, calm and peace inside amidst all that is going on in our human created world. Even to find solitude that is not cluttered with stimulus. We each have unique ways and practices to center, increase resilience and stay grounded amidst intense change and uncertain times. Most can be simple, sustainable…… and elemental. Just a moment ago I was standing on the earth barefoot and closed my eyes…..”
Improv Humor
“How does one tap into improvisational humor?
I would say that life is full of opportunities every single day in the cracks and crevices of interaction. Even if you are alone. Simply trusting what is arising within the moment and not holding back is a key. However, one underlying characteristic you must possess is that you don’t mind at all being silly, “out of step”, different from the mainstream around you, and most probably looked at by others in the vicinity. …”
Living In Time That Simply Is
“In these moments it was as if everything not immediately in the small perimeter of where I sat faded away. The only “time” that existed was now and nothing else mattered. It was like those moments when you find yourself gazing into the face of a beloved. If I was to measure it in human time it was probably only 10 minutes or so, but it felt timeless.
A spaciousness of breath and presence in which I was embraced.”
Acceptance, Letting Go….and Discovery
“It all seemed to embrace, acceptance, letting go, trust, choice and most definitely discovery. As I age it seems that these moments are coming more often. A choice to let go of “the way I have always been” to explore new territory…..”
Slowing Down – Kiss The Earth With Your Feet
“When we walk like we are rushing, we print anxiety anx sorrow on the earth.We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the earth. Be aware of the contact between your feet and the earth. Walk as if you are kissing the earth with our feet.” Thich Nhat Hahn
Now You Are Free
“As Spring energy here in the Northern hemisphere is starting to flow, I am drawn back to what had me originally creating the Wildly Free Elder website and community during the first lock down of the pandemic. An inspiration was emerging in me to inspire aging in a more accepting way unique to each individual with no pre-conceived idea of what we are like at any certain set age. Instead to live life fully, and as Jenny says in the video below – ….”
WILDLY FREE ELDER 