WILDLY FREE ELDER
The Artistry of Aging
Category: Conscious Aging
Essence of Life
“At 14-years old I was not ready to be without my mother, but that moment in time when I went out to look for breakfast one morning, and instead found my father washing the walls of our living room in full scale grief, changed my life forever. He told me….”
Moving From Who We Have Been To Who We Have Become
“It was the elders who recognized the responsibility to share the fruits of their lives and experiences with the younger generations. It was in elderhood, as physical abilities weakened and day-to-day responsibilities lessened, that people could more strongly focus on their inner lives and on allowing Spirit to shine through, so that their biggest impact came more through the wholeness of their being than through the amount of their doing.”
Becoming An Elder
Leaving behind my journey of struggling and racing through the white water of many rivers, I become the river, creating my own unique way. Leaving behind my self-imposed role as a tree upon which others have leaned, I now become the wind, with the… Continue Reading “Becoming An Elder”
The Trauma Hold for Times of Stress
“When your stress levels rise and life feels too much, the body can go into shutdown, the mind can run wild and the emotions overwhelm any sense of safety, connection or ability to think. The fight, flight, freeze may go into overdrive as the sympathetic nervous system is stimulated. For some, this is a regular pattern, and the sympathetic nervous system may stay in overdrive. One of the ways that support the regulation of the nervous system, especially if you are in shock or have a history of trauma, is to connect with the body, the container of this life force.”
Beyond “I’m Fine”
“To passionately see, feel, taste, touch, hear and dance the unfathomable beauty, heartbreak and joy of what it is to be embodied at this time, in this place – NOW – takes consciousness, courage and a grounded sense of the inevitable change that continually colors life on Earth with a vibrancy we often miss.”
Each Precious Moment
“In times gone by, so much pressure ’to get somewhere”… to achieve, and the ultimate fear of ‘falling off the cliff’ before I had completed my purpose!
But what pray is that purpose?!…”
Seize This Moment To Love
“Kristi Nelson was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer when she was 33 years old. In the 27 years since, she has lived into all that is possible when we take nothing for granted. In this beautiful short film by award-winning photographer and filmmaker Doug Menuez, Kristi shares her personal story of grateful living – a moving account of what she offers in more detail in her new book Wake Up Grateful.”
Embodied GPS
“We used to pay attention to an innate embodied inner guidance system that was deeply embedded in our intimate relationship with nature, in the rhythms and cycles of life and death, within our inhale and exhale. But then we forgot, buried deep within our psyches, as we lost our on going conversation with the very heart of our deepest yearnings and knowing.”
Choosing Joy Over Despair
“Yet, within the wounds, rather like the tree in the image above, there is new growth and opportunities to re-frame our perspective and turn our attention to moments of joy and small pleasures. New growth that finds its compost from what has died or changed, and leaves us with clarity, a new found direction and hope. A perspective coming from interconnection – not separation. “
What Of Death?
“You see, we are constantly reminded of the cycle of birth, growth, change, death and regeneration every day of our lives. A tutorial or “rites of passage” given to us freely from the vast source of all creation without asking anything from us in return. Do we pay attention?”
