WILDLY FREE ELDER
The Artistry of Aging
Tag: Reflections of Life
Choosing A Slower Life
“The season of Winter here in Western N. Carolina, embraced by the Blue Ridge Mountains, has a sparseness and economy to it draped in bare branches and a monochrome environment. Feeling more exposed and open, and at the same time yearning to curl inward to restore, reflect, and perhaps grieve..
It is here that we cannot escape the death of all living things. The endless transformation of birth, growth, death, transformation, change. The fear of any of this is part of our disconnect. The seasons come and go…. and so do we.”
Being Present
“Every single day is filled with possible ways to make a positive, compassionate and perhaps innovative and creative impact. It comes in the form of connection – to each other, to ourselves, to the animal and natural world and our environment that we are an integral and interconnected part of.”
The Beauty of Life In What We Give
“To be part of a “gift economy” where prosperity grows from the flow of relationships, and where the currency of being in those relationships is expressed in gratitude, interdependence and reciprocity – not the accumulation of goods. Where wealth is having enough to share and “making good relationships with the human and more than human world is the primary currency of well being.” (Robin Wall Kimmerer/The Serviceberry)…”
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.”
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 29: How Are You, Really?
“When something is out of balance whether in our bodies/minds/emotions, social injustice, or in our environment, the first remedies or solutions that come to mind are to treat the symptoms or to ignore it all together hoping it will simply go away…”
Elder Muse/Day 26 : Time To Immerse – A Return to Nature
“As I was delivered onto the soft sandy shore feelings of awe and wonder overtook me in recognition that these moments were gifted to me. A reminder never to forget the ground of my being, peace of mind, and open heart are always intimately connected with the wildness and rhythms of the natural world.”
Elder Muse/Day 25: The Importance of Feeling Seen
“What if every time we went out into the world we saw everyone we came in contact with, even passing by, as an opportunity to connect?
Actually this is our superpower, and also a powerful remedy for what ails our world right now.”
WILDLY FREE ELDER 