The time has come.
“You can either get busy living or get busy dying.” Andy Dufresne, Shawshank Redemption.
Yes, it is time to resume, restore or whatever we want to call it. The virus is here, and it appears it will be with us in some way, shape or form for quite some time. But it is also time to return to some semblance of life as we’ve known it. Or in my case, time to return to why I started this blog in the first place — to examine, explore and learn about the process of getting older.
Certainly the pandemic and its ongoing impact may influence my writing, but it is time for me to move on. Like Andy Dufresne told Red in the movie Shawshank Redemption. “You can either get busy living or get busy dying.”
Resuming life as I’ve known it!
So I begin again on my journey of a long lived life. I have a lot to learn and there are many tools out there to help me. My book list is long. There are all sorts of podcasts. As I learn and explore, I’ll share ideas and information I’ve gleaned on this blog.
For starters, there are the books — authors who offer up sage advice on the latter chapters of life and how to live them well.
In his book “The Ageless Soul” Thomas Moore celebrates the ways in which our souls age. “Your soul is there at every moment of experience in time, but it is also ageless.” He also reminds us that the task of aging is becoming more of a person. “You’re very purpose in life is to….become what you are meant to be…..to let your unborn nature be revealed.”
Parker Palmer is another must-read author, especially his book, “On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity and Getting Old.” He talks of developing a “collaboration” with aging, and offers suggestions on how to travel the arc between our own sunrises and sunsets. “Live every stage of life,” he says, “with gratitude, generosity and an open mind and heart.”
Then there are the nuns — Srs. Joan Chittister and Joyce Rupp, both prolific and insightful writers. Sr. Joan with her book, “The Gift of Years,” and Sr. Joyce’s “Fly While You Still Have Wings.” Sr. Joyce is active on the speaker’s circuit and has done retreats world-wide on her topic of “Boundless Compassion.” These women have so much wisdom and advice to offer. I’ll be reading a lot of their works.
Podcasts on aging abound. I haven’t checked these out, but they sound interesting: “Edge of Aging”, “Fearless Aging,” and “Live Long and Master Aging.”
You know what, I’m actually looking forward to getting older. There’s so much to read, to do, ways to serve, many ways to show love and kindness. Join me because I think the journey is going to be absolutely exciting.
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. — C.S. Lewis
Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength — Betty Friedan
The privilege of a lifetime is to become who we really are. — Carl Jung