winter has arrived. our lives slow just as anilmals’ do....if we allow it. for many, this time is one of frenzy and acquisition. for others it is a time to draw inward, listen and wait. it is a time of silence.
in the woods the birds are more still, the little creatures burrow in their dens for many hours each day, emerging only in search of food, if at all. the insects live in a state of torpor, waiting for the warmth.all is silent.maimonides, (1135-1204) was a preeminent sephardic jewish philosopher, physician and astronomer.
he said “silence is the fence around wisdom.”
can we open to the silence of winter to allow wisdom to emerge? each of us elders holds a wealth of wisdom.. not because we are ‘special’ but because we are unique. no one else has experienced our lives. no one has felt our emotions and sensations. no one else has thought our thoughts. no one else was, is or will be the unique combination that we are. and so we hold wisdom...the wisdom of our unique being.
in wintertime we can become silent enough, deeply silent enough, to recognise our wisdom. we can know the depth of our experience and, in springtime, allow it to emerge into the world...the world of our immediate circle or the world at large. we can open to our own wisdom. we can value our experience and hold it high regard. we can repair what is damaged so that it no longer holds us in thrall, limiting our actions and perceptions.we can allow the silence of winter to foster our wisdom and be maimonidies’ emissaries.
intention-seeds
the year is turning. the winter solstice is here. and, incrementally the days will grow longer. it is a time of the celebration of light, the return of the light after months of living in the fertile dark.
the darkness of the year, and of our days, serves us in many ways. one of those ways is to house and protect seeds. while actual planting may not happen until spring, seeds, in many indigenous cultures, have been stored in baskets since the previous year’s harvest. they have lived in the darkness, waiting. this is the time of potential, of energy waiting to burst forth gathering momentum.
winter is often a time of waiting. gardeners await the arrival of catalogues with great anticipation. the soil is damp from winter rains, waiting. what will we plant as the light grows?our intentions for the next year are the seeds we will plant in our garden.
some intention-seeds are conscious, some not. all of them will grow in our garden. right now, as the year turns, we have choice. the garden we grow depends on which seeds we cultivate, which we plant and nurture into glorious plants as the light grows.
which elder seeds will you choose?which elder seeds will you nurture in the coming year?which elder seeds will you witness as they grow?which elder seeds will you harvest next autumn?may your celebration, and planting, be fruitful!
a challenge
The Challenge of Being an Elder
Can you hold paradox?Can you consider that these, believed by many to be the best of times, foretell the worst of times?Can you be aware of a pair of predicaments — your own death and the possibility of the death of our human species?Can you hold these predicaments lightly with a sense of humor?Can you transcend your personal mind-denial and the denial of the culture in which you are embedded?Can you hold the possibility that you are not here accidentally; that you chose to be born at this dangerous and exciting time in order to observe, participate and be-of-service to what you love doing?Can you hold this metaphor: “Though all doors are marked, No Exit, leap upon your steed and ride off with your banner held high and marked, “Engaged!”Will you commit to lead a magnificent life, compassionate, bold and enthusiastic — just because you say so?Will you, my brother, my sister, walk the shore after a high tide and, one-by-one, throw in stranded starfish? And, in the face of the accusation that doing so won’t make any difference, hold up one starfish and smile, “It will make a difference to this one,” Will you be a starfish-thrower?Will you declare upon your death bed: I have loved. I have lived. I have accomplished what I came for.this is the challenge of being an elder in these frightening times.
these words were written by Dr. Harvey Austin. He is a retired plastic and reconstructive surgeon and the author of"Elders Rock! Don’t Just Get Older: Become an Elder". His primary question-to-live-within during these most-dangerous times is, “how do we each live a powerful life of compassion, joy and enthusiasm—regardless of circumstances, including chaos?
doing? being?
conscious ageing has many proponents. one of the most active in the US is ron pevny, of the center for conscious eldering.
in a recent newsletter his lead article contained the following…
In an interview I did with the late Bob Atchley, that wise elder and pioneering voice for conscious aging, who wrote the inspiring book Spirituality and Aging, Bob said: “You hear a lot of people saying, ‘What I want to do is cut back on the doing so I can really enjoy the being.’ And I think that doesn’t sit too well with my experience. My experience is that I have had to learn how to be-while-doing. That means to have one foot in the part of me that is connected to my deepest spirituality and one foot in the practicalities of whatever it is that I’m engaged in at that moment in the world…. As you move in the direction of connecting up with the witness consciousness, with real presence, which is the essence of true spirituality, you’re moving in the direction of being while you’re in the act of doing things. And to the extent that you’re doing that, you’re growing into the role of the true Elder, the Wisdom Keeper so needed in today’s world.”
being-while-doing has become my new mantra! it isn’t an either/or situation. rather it is the consciousness of both/and. bob atchley was truly a pioneer, much honoured in the movement toward eldering. he was a gerontologist and sociologist who died in november, 2018. his view of ageing opened many doors.atchley recognised the deep connection between spirituality and eldering. in his view, that connection didn’t break when he was involved in the world. his was not the spirituality of the nun or monk. rather it was a fully engaged, active spiritual practice of living in each moment.
there is no separation in the world of the elder between her actions and her connection to her spirituality. they are one and the same. they spring from the same heartmind. they grow together in harmony, integrated.let us all be inspired by bob’s insights, and the example of his life, to grow into our elderhood with a spirituality that shines through all of our activities.
what's in a word?
words have power and meaning.
words can caress or harm. Words can enlighten or degrade. our language forms how we think and feel about ourselves and one another and the world. words make perception and sensation tangible. so how we, as elders, perceive our world is often shaped by the words that are used to define us.consider these:old fartover-the-hillcronehagold fogeyold baghas-beenold batbiddyblue-hairthese words, all in common usage, not only insult older people, they lift up those who are, right now, younger, they further the divide between age groups. they tell us, in no uncertain terms, that old is ‘other’, abnormal, unappealing and less-than.and how about the phrase, “you’re only as old as you think you are”? this is a popular lie, one we are taught to believe. the author ursula k. leguin commented in response, “if i’m ninety and believe i’m fourty five, i'm headed for a very bad time trying to get out of the bathtub.”
she also commented, in response to someone telling her, while in her 80s, that she wasn’t old, was like telling someone the pope isn’t catholic.in many spiritual traditions, the elders were held in high regard, honoured and respected.
we, as conscious elders of the 21st century, can reclaim the currently unpopular words associated with old age and bring them back to their original meanings. “old”, as a word, used to signify the the third part of life, just as “youth” meant the first.old age is for all of us who live it...the sissies, the warriors, the healthy, the strong, the ill and frail, the cowardly and the courageous. we can claim our full lives and live them with purpose, attention, meaning and love.
what's in a word?
in a recent conversation, a dear friend commented about the lack of spirituality in her life right now. she said she used to meditate, write poetry, sing and write music.
then she went on to tell me about all that she had been doing...tirelessly working with people who are unhoused, actively supporting children in africa, caring for her grandson and his canine friend.
a word popped out of my mouth as i reminded her about all of this. i told her i was certain she did all these things ‘enspirited’. i'm not sure if i had just created this word. i like it! i smiled as it tumbled through my lips.spiritual life can’t be measured in how often we sit on the cushion,
or how many times we attend a service,
or how many yoga classes we attend.
it can, however, be experienced in our connection...to ourselves, to others, to the planet and to something that transcends.to be enspirited is to be fully present with whatever is in the moment.to be enspirited is to be alive to each passing breath, each passing thought, each passing step, each passing movement, each passing sight, smell, taste.to be enspirited is to be with each feeling, each sensation.to be enspirited to live and to love.