The Day of My Birth

Birthdays!

For the past few years I have made an effort to quietly let my birthday slide by unnoticed. As if being in denial would stop time and keep me at a young age! My brain tells me I am young but my body begs to differ!

It’s amazing how age creeps up on us when we least expect it. We feel so young and able to do everything we have always done physically and then we lift our grandchild and twirl her around in the air and the soreness kicks in for days after!  What the heck???  I go to the gym,  lift weights and try to remember to stretch. The bones and muscles just refuse to cooperate.

This is the last year that I will be in my 50’s. I have decided to embrace the next phase of my life. It’s one thing to say I will be growing old gracefully, but it’s an entirely different beast to actually accomplish that huge task.

In Asian and Native American cultures, elders are respected and looked upon as wise and powerful. Aging Native American women were called Grandmothers and were honored and given important roles as healers, midwives and visionaries.  They were the teachers of sacred traditions and they grounded the energy for ceremonies.  These women were not considered to reach full wisdom until age 52.

And now, here I am – well past the ripe old age of 52 – but am I any wiser?  

Wise Woman!

I must BELIEVE and trust that I have become wise and that I am not some withering away aging woman that will be useless in a few years and that knows nothing. What is it about our culture that makes us feel that way?  I feel that my own parents are wise. I still look up to them and ask for advice. But do I feel wise?

Sure,  technology is moving faster than our brains can comprehend. And yes, our lives would be drastically changed if all technology disappeared. But computers and iphones do NOT replace wisdom and tradition and past mistakes that we have learned from.

I have so much I can share with my children and my grandchildren. So many stories are in my memories that could help them overcome their own hurdles. I can be the one who has survived hardships and will teach them the best way to get past their own mistakes and brick walls. I must believe in myself and in the wisdom that I have to offer. 

Today begins my 60th year on this earth. I plan to make it the start of something new and wonderful. My days will be filled with gratitude for just being alive and able to share my wisdom and my stories. I will take care of this vessel that holds my soul and begin to mend the aches and pains. The correct nutrients will enter my body and  I will start to rid myself of negative thoughts or feelings and see the good in each day and in each person I encounter. 

And I will look toward my next years as amazing and filled with mystery and love and travel and wisdom! The past was about learning to be wise. The future is about BEING wise! 

So…. LIFE….. come and get me! Surround me with amazement!  I’m ready.

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