How do I Embrace Elderhood and Wisdom?
The truth is I did not see my self as an elder. No way, I wanted to be like the Bob Dylan song "Forever Young." I, like many of my friends prided myself on being youthful, active, fit, hiking to the top of mountains, riding my bike for 70 miles and overproducing in every way in my life. Competitive as hell. But would I ever admit that? No way!
It was not until the Editor of our local newspaper was speaking about a mutual friend and how he held such a special place in his eldership that I realized this was a good thing.
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Of course, I have great respect for elders of Indigenous cultures but did I ever consider myself as that? Definitely not! It was when a musician friend of mine introduced me on an internationally televised program as an elder in our community that I stopped in my tracks. Me? An elder? OK I had to start seeing my reality as others saw me. Is it possible? Am I a wisdom carrier? This possibility is what this new program, book, workshop series and theme of my life is about.
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As I reunited with a dear friend Deanna Jenné after 30 years, themes began to emerge. We are decades older and as it turns out, wiser. We have had experiences that carry weight and we have much to share from our shared journeys; spiritual, professional emotional, and personal. Deanna and I used to present women's Retreats called WINDS OF CHANGE which was the inspiration for my SOPHIA SONGS CD. In those days we were in our early stages of spiritual creativity and had endless energy. Fast forward well into the Second Half of Life, the theme of Eldering has been predominant and something worth discussing and sharing. So we decided to write a book about it.
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Elders are needed to reflect back to our younger people who they are and who they are becoming. Without elders our young people are not seen or heard. Elders need to be valued and end the stereotypical point of view. I became "painfully" aware of that stigma after breaking my wrist last summer and hearing friends make comments about "losing my balance" and "osteoporosis" and "getting old sucks!" No, I did not resonate with any of it! This time of life is not just about prescriptions, Medicare, social security, hip replacements and saggy skin. There is so much more to this time in our lives and I here to make some noise about it.
