The Artistry of Aging
“The intention of silence and solitude for six days was entered into with a great letting go on January 1, 2023. Little did I know it was to be taken apart. Until then the seeming lengthening of available time in the day, coupled with the freedom to simply be present to each moment, was enhanced by a personal decision to ban all digital or electronic means of connecting or communication.
And then everything changed 2 days later when I happened to check my email…..”
“I do understand why silence is challenging for many people. We are surrounded by the tumult of sounds, mostly man made, that are constantly around us or that we choose to have around us. What would happen if all that was gone?
We might suddenly be confronted with ourselves amidst the vacuum of no stimulation. A space where you are asked to let go, accept, befriend ourselves and forgive…..”
“…. want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings.” Mary Oliver
:Hiking up 1400 feet of elevation on part of the Appalachian Trail we came around a bend in the trail taking in the fresh air gifted by the surrounding trees and plants. Then there it was, Nature’s artistry. Spread out before us was a carpet of Trillium on both sides of the trail.
Truly a magical place….”
“What of beauty? It is as unique as each one of us. Nature’s landscapes and creatures, a beautiful human face, art that expands our perceptions, colors, light and form, the poetry of music – so much beauty in this world.
Yet, there is a different landscape for beauty to create within. The inner landscape within us. Most often we don’t even think about it, or look for beauty there. It is subtle but it is there in our continual journey of becoming as we cross thresholds leaving old patterns of thinking and being behind…..”
“This is an opportunity to remember why we are here…..and what supports and sustains us. The natural world.”
Will we be more mindful of taking from her in the days to come? Our lives depend upon it….”
“Yes I hear people say you need to know yourself to bring that into a marriage, and I am sure that is true. To me it feels slightly different. It is more the willingness to find ourselves in the marriage. That feels a little more forgiving and a bit more allowing. Let this relationship change me in whatever way seems natural in the interaction between us.” ~ Antony Osler”
:In nature…and in life….receiving is reciprocal and woven with giving. What I didn’t grasp in the past is that I was always receiving when I was giving. Yet what would it be like to completely receive without being compelled to give back. Thankfully in my elder years I have surrendered into that experience.”