WILDLY FREE ELDER
The Artistry of Aging
Tag: Resilience
Embracing Life’s Unpredictability
“I am asking myself a lot these days this question. What is it to be fully human???
Tears roll down my face more often right now whether it be that my heart is touched by beauty or the song of a bird; I am watching a video of a child in a wheelchair handing a flower to a monk on the Walk for Peace; hearing the story of someone who just lost their dog of many years to cancer; reading about the formation of Singing Resistance communities in the U.S. – peaceful protests protecting and supporting the immigrant population here; feeling, hearing about, and coming in personal contact with the great need of so many to connect, belong somehow, and find some sense of inner peace in a world that seems to have gone crazy.”
Ripening
“What would it feel like to know that aging can simply be resilient ripening. Ripening into a completeness within from where peace and acceptance is generated. No longer using life energy to compete for attention, but instead radiating presence even in the most challenging of circumstances and in our inevitable moments of suffering.”
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.”
Courage With Self-Compassion
“As elders we are often asked, consciously or unconsciously, to be invisible and not take up too much space as our younger counterparts or adult children seem to simply not have time for us. It takes courage to speak out and take care of ourselves and each other by not hiding. By bringing our wisdom, compassion, humor, consciousness, our heart – and yes, our courage to every interaction we have each and every day.”
In A Time of Destruction…
“It might be easy, and at times compelling, to concentrate our attention on the destruction happening in almost every facet of human and nature based life on this amazing interconnected planet of ours. Our media constantly broadcasts the negative and destructive forces in our face without any restriction or hesitation. Destruction is nothing new to the millions of years of life on this planet.
Yet, if we focus exclusively there we not only lose ourselves but forget what our contributions and offerings might be to the world. We forget that creation can be an antidote to destruction…..”
Seeing Through the Lens of Perspective
“It feels to me that curiosity and resilience are critical qualities to have these days. We, being humans, bemoan the state of the world – indeed it is in dire straits ecologically, politically, socially and in so many other ways. Yet, there is a great deal of good, untold beauty, and an abundance of innovation as well – much more than the trauma and violence, war mongering and power struggles.”
Vulnerability: The Gift of Being Seen
“As the years accumulate at some point we start recognizing that we have entered the last part of our embodied lives. This often comes with a feeling of great vulnerability as passing the mid-point there are now more years we have lived than to be lived.
It all becomes so very precious….”
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…..”
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 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.”
WILDLY FREE ELDER 