WILDLY FREE ELDER
The Artistry of Aging
Tag: Elderhood
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…..”
Soul’s Calling
“How could I possibly live this life within a mainstream narrative that dismisses age as something to overcome, or combat, or somehow change. Hair has silver streaks and skin has lost elasticity, but the soul – that innate deepest part of us – celebrates it all.
For this is the time of life when a new song is sung, even with the challenges that seem to continuously emerge.”…
Reseeding The World
“As we reach our elder years most of us will have experienced pivotal moments of great loss and grieving. Eventually we recognize it is time to step back into the world – into our life – again. Like planting a seed of ourselves and finding what nourishes it into bloom.”
Just Stop Running
“I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like if I hadn’t spent so much time trying to control the events of it. If I had stopped running away and instead ran towards the center of my being trusting life’s unfolding and synchronicity, and my own unique style of expression. If so much attention hadn’t given such importance to others opinions, demands and expectations….”
Surrendering Into the Dance of Life
“It happened in a state of complete surrender as my body fell backwards without any fear into the waiting arms of another behind me. Awakening from this dream of last night I was immediately immersed in memories of the many years I spent in the free form dance (ecstatic dance/contact improv/partner dance improv) communities of wherever I happened to be living.”
Just One Day
“Watching the sunrise with orange tinting the sky over the Blue Ridge Mountains from my bedroom window, where I sit warm beneath a comforter, I realize that sunrises are more significant than they used to be. More beautiful and precious. The sound of geese flying overhead now contribute their presence. I smile.”
Embracing Life’s Beauty Just As It Is
“For most of us there have been – and will be – challenges in our lives that simply take away our ability to see and embrace beauty in any given moment….and to be unerringly grateful for it. We may lose our way for a time.
These moments of perceived beauty can be a potential light in the darkness we find ourselves in….”
Pure Absolute Joy
“Adversity and the exquisite vulnerability of being human is a reminder to extend compassion and kindness. To return to a conscious relationship with a natural world that gives us life. To participate fully in our lives even within the inevitable challenges.”
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….”
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.”
WILDLY FREE ELDER 