WILDLY FREE ELDER
The Artistry of Aging
Category: Embodied Wisdom
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.”
Just Wondering
“Scientists tell us that the eye of a storm is the calmest place, that includes tornadoes and hurricanes. Given the utter destruction and chaos caused by severe weather it’s hard to imagine that there is motionlessness, as well. Could that be the same for human beings? Despite what the outer environment might look like, within each of us …”
A Peaceful Heart In A Time of War
“How do we have a peaceful heart and transfer that to others in our every day vastly interconnected life where grief, tears and sorrow are shared….. even though we may be on the other side of the planet from each other ?”
DAY 20: Give Yourself Time
“Giving ourselves time to be still enough to hear our own voice. To channel a prayer that is “big enough for your wild soul” as John O’Donohue speaks to the destiny we are here for. This day was filled with dropping in and letting go. Communing with the natural world. Engaging in spontaneous laughter with another as a small community walked the Full Moon celebration labyrinth.”
DAY 12: Light and Shadows
“The shadows dance with the lessening of light each day coming nearer to the Solstice. Acceptance of this darker partner who holds stories of birth and death, aging and wisdom, beginnings and endings. love and loss – always shifting and changing. Will we notice these moments bathing in their depths, becoming a willing partner in a dance with both light and shadow….”
Rise Up Again
“While exploring the landscape of humans next right livelihood, potential and daily conscious actions these questions emerge. Will it benefit all living beings and the earth? is it living and anchored within, and aligned with our values? Will it create more spaciousness for artistry, well being and collaboration with and on behalf of others?”
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
WILDLY FREE ELDER 