WILDLY FREE ELDER
The Artistry of Aging
Category: Elder Journey
The Courage to Follow Your Soul’s Calling
“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 losing the earth’s diversity that we are an intimate interconnected part of…..”
Courage With Self-Compassion
“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.”
The Beauty of Life In What We Give
“To be part of a “gift economy” where prosperity grows from the flow of relationships, and where the currency of being in those relationships is expressed in gratitude, interdependence and reciprocity – not the accumulation of goods. Where wealth is having enough to share and “making good relationships with the human and more than human world is the primary currency of well being.” (Robin Wall Kimmerer/The Serviceberry)…”
The Ancient One
“How about self care as a revolutionary act? Our nervous system doesn’t think in pieces. The fear, the rage, the anxiety and uncertainty — isn’t just intellectual. It’s physiological. Our bodies are absorbing this era in our tightened shoulders, our sleepless nights, our frayed tempers.
There are ways to unplug from all of this…..”
When We Look – Paying Attention
“Paying attention can be devastating, especially now with the world as fractured as it is. We would rather look away from the things that break our heart or the challenges that may have life threatening or altering effects. Or even from paying full attention to someone we love and care about, both of us being uncomfortable that we may be fully seen….”
When The World Is Too Much With Us
“When the world is too much for us, and we can’t hear life’s music, there is always someplace we can go to hear it again. For each of us, as our physical lives move towards the ultimate letting go, it is uniquely different.
I am wondering how you are feeling, moving and thinking at this stage of your life?”
Elder Muse/Day 28: The Miracle of Mindfulness
“Mindfulness in the breadth of its practice could be one of the most important tools we have for the art of being peace in a chaotic world. Attention to the present moment as a way of life – attentive living – shows us our own ungrounded perceptions and old patterns of being that harm self and others. Then there is the opportunity to change them.”
Elder Muse/Day 27: To Be In Awe
“Reclaiming our sense of wonder in the everyday, ordinary moments of life” is something that often happens to us as we reach elderhood. Capturing that sense of awe that was a given for many of us when we were a child is now our precious gift in the latter years of life.
Elder Muse/Day 18: No Net Will Appear
“Crossing over a threshold from one stage of life, or even in one single moment, can be disorienting. It may be a subtle transition over time or a sudden wake up call that you are now in Emerald City, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, and nothing is really the same.
Once you decide to avoid your comfort zones and take off into unknown territory the next story of your life begins….”
Elder Muse/Day 17: A Few Words On Aging
“Being an Elder is not defined by age, but rather Elders are recognized because they have earned the respect of their community through wisdom and actions or their teachings; through the vibrancy that radiates out from their presence and the unique artistry that only they can bring into the world.
Let us return to acknowledging elders in the fullest sense of the powerful presence they can be and are becoming. Respecting the life artistry that has been necessary to bring them to where they are today.”
WILDLY FREE ELDER 