with advanced years, it seems there is a greater ability to choose. we can choose how we relate to one another and to the world in a way that wasn’t viable in younger years. at that time it was important to be like the others of our peer groups...wearing the same clothes, thinking the same thoughts, sharing the same concerns, doing the same sorts of jobs, striving in the same way.now, with the freedom from those demands, we can act from the heart as a choice. we can relate from the heart as a choice. we can choose to enter a room as a voice for ourselves, rather than a voice for others. it seems other people, and their opinions, have less influence over our current choices.
we can now stand in our own power. we can live authentically, from our true nature, without the pressures of employment, certain family obligations and those nagging internal voices that have, for decades, run the show. there may be new commitments that we make, but many are made from choice.spiritual practice supports this aspect of our eldering. it doesn’t matter which practice or how we do it. the only necessity is the doing of it. for in these years of elderhood, connection with something larger that our own ego, our small self, is vitally important to keeping us vibrant, curious and vital.many of the american spiritual teachers who brought eastern thought and practices to the west are now in their 60s, 70s and 80s. they are our mentors, our role models. and they show us the path of the heart in elderhood, the path of authenticity, of being present and awake. each one is a shining example of what is possible in elderhood, each one following her/his unique path, having made that choice.
we all have that option.let us each decide, now, to be our authentic, eldering self.