WILDLY FREE ELDER
The Artistry of Aging
Tag: Elderhood
DAY 13: Uber Elders
“As we increasingly rely on technology to problem solve, conceptual designer Barbara Beskind is a testament to the power of personal input. Using her experience as an occupational therapist, Barbara, then aged eighty-nine, instigated the role of advisor for aging-related projects for the international design firm, IDEO. Inventive, practical, playful and always human-centered, Barbara and her can-do spirit set the stage for an exploration of design values that honor, respect and expand our understanding of ourselves and others.”
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….”
DAY 4: Playful Offering
“Reminders and encouragement to play are all around us. It is left to us to take advantage of the moments and not hold back. Those very moments of free form improvisation with others, or even alone, shifts attention from old stale patterns of being to living joyously from our hearts and creative souls. Watch children!”
DAY 3: A Breath of Good News
“Today, like every morning, my hit of “good news” via The Good News Network, arrived in my inbox. To start the day learning about and being exposed to positive actions, innovations and inspiring stories sets the tone of the day for me. The website, with its archive of 21,000 positive news stories from around the globe, confirms what people already know—that good news itself is not in short supply.”
31-Days of Joy & Laughter
“A couple of days ago I realized I no longer choose to have my attention taken by the fear, doom and gloom broadcast daily, whether on our smart phones news feed or while talking to others. I am weary of it all and need a higher vibration energy bath! It is not that I don’t want to know what is happening in the world, but instead the question I am posing to myself, and to you, every day is – where do we want to place our attention? We most always have a choice. For the month of December….”
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.”
Embodying Wildness
“Many of us find ourselves domesticated. Adhering to the demands and expectations, not only of our society and culture, but from our own deeply grooved patterns of thinking that formed over the many years we have inhabited this lifetime.
When we reach elderhood – a state of being, not an age – we take stock of who we have become and perhaps question where the wild, free, playful and passionate one is hiding….”
Elder – This Is Where Your Life Has Arrived
:There comes a time when all that has been lived, learned, loved and lost may need space for integration and to be honoured. A space to connect to that which has held you throughout all these adventures, struggles, challenges and … arriving home. A space to lean into the ‘quiet immensity of your own presence’. (John O’Donohue)”
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.”
WILDLY FREE ELDER 