WILDLY FREE ELDER
The Artistry of Aging
Category: Embodied Wisdom
Nature’s Medicine
“Oom (uncle) Johannes is known by many names: herb doctor, healer, story teller, and teacher. Although he is already 95 years old, he still dedicates his time and energy to walking the lands near his home in search of healing herbs. For Johannes, nature is medicine to the soul and can be used in many ways to aid healing.”
Elemental Musings
“Elemental Musings” offers daily postings, for an undetermined amount of time, by a nature lover and elder in transition in the Blue Ridge Mountain area of North Western N. Carolina. “Sunday moments where a brilliant butterfly skims over the surface of the nearby creek where I am seated on a stone bench, whose cool surface permeates up through my body delivering stone energy that has been around much longer than I have.”…..
Changing Our Stories
“In the summer of 2020, while all of us around the globe were isolated in some way from those we love, award-winning photographer and filmmaker Doug Menuez found a way for us to gather safely, outdoors, to listen closely to the stories of seven individuals for whom grateful living is a way of life. The result of Doug’s beautiful work is a new video series, Grateful Voices. In the short film and narrative below James, who generously participated in the project, shares his story.”
Healing Scarcity Through A Gift Economy
“Gratitude and reciprocity are the currency of a gift economy, and they have the remarkable property of multiplying with every exchange, their energy concentrating as they pass from hand to hand, a truly renewable resource.” From “The Serviceberry” by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Without A Doubt, LIFE IS A GIFT
“We sometimes forget that we are an integral part of the cycles, flow and rhythms of life. As this very challenging year for so many comes to a close, remember how precious the moments you have been given ……and that still remain. “
I Don’t Know
“All my schooling was about being on that hallowed ground of certainty, answers so definitive that they could be picked out of a multiple choice. The whole system applauded every right answer. A great predictive model of my future was based on the number of things that I knew.
…Society hasn’t prepared me to admit, let alone live in, “I don’t know.”
Love As Allurement – the Cosmic Creation Story
The Universe Is A Green Dragon…”is a beautiful example of how conversation across the generations takes place. In the book, the youth asks lots of questions, and the elder responds in an evocative way that invites even more questions. The interplay between them is such fun to follow. It feels like there is a twinkle in the elder’s eye.”
Master of Pauses
“No one taught me how to take meaningful and life giving pauses where possibility, well being and creativity reside. It is just in recent years I have learned the value and rewards from doing so.”
Breakfast With Jim
Breakfast with Jim Guest Blog Post by Andy Kidd Hanging on a string by Jim’s door, a wide flat cork with instructions to ‘Pull gently’ rang an old iron bell. I paused outside to look at the stones laid in gatherings which covered… Continue Reading “Breakfast With Jim”
Embodied Transparency
“Embodied transparency is learned through uncovering layers of self deception and carefully constructed identities that no longer serve us. When we are ready to create another layer, informed by all those below, we step over the threshold from a liminal creative in-between-space into surrender and trust. “
