To know how to grow old is the master work of wisdom,
and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living.
~ Henri Amiel
Yes, another year rolled up to my door and rang the bell. "She" had been waiting patiently just around the corner. I knew she was lurking close by, and yet her appearance right there on the porch took me by surprise.
My mind has always been open to whatever life brings. Admittedly there are times when I feel like railing against much of it, but I smile and carry on.
The smile on my face doesn't mean my life is perfect.
It means I appreciate what I have.
~ anon.
If I'm honest with myself (and more and more in the past twenty years, being honest with myself has become easier), I don't like a lot of the stuff that's happening to my body. I'm not particularly surprised at the changes, just not all that pleased to discover that my usual stalwart way of facing life's challenges doesn't serve me quite as well as before.
Sometimes it hurts like hell to get up out of a chair and even if I do rise with some amount of grace and (feigned) aplomb, the first steps are painful and slow. There's no hiding the fact that the woman tottering toward you is in (at least!) her 8th decade.
As with anyone who has lived through many decades, life has provided me with more lessons than any schoolbook, how-to-book or all-knowing guru could have ever prepared me for. There are no answers to the question of how to age happily and gracefully. You just carry on as best you can.
What I know for sure is that I got out of bed this morning older than when I got in ... but younger than I'll ever be!
Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence.
Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance.
Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence.
Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance.
~ Yoko Ono
