THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL IN 'OLD'

 

This morning....... I had an early call from a good friend and along with it a long list of misery and unhappiness. Younger than me by a few years but old enough to own a senior citizen card, she bemoans her life and everything that’s in it. Except her children and grandchildren, but of course typically the doting parent and grandmother that she is. . We each have our stories, our history. She has hers. This time she’s feeling old and sad. Well, we chatted for a bit, until she had to go back to her morning chores and I went back to mine.
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She reminded me of a neighbor and a post written a year ago. Here it is…….

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With the sun shining warm and bright, puttering in my tiny pot garden on the patio was pleasurable made even more so when a tiny cool breeze came blowing my way. I was in the middle of trimming dried-up branches in one pot when a neighbor living just across the street strode down casually to the side of the patio facing the street and happily extended an invitation to her birthday party on Sunday which she’d rather call her Thanksgiving Party. She further added that she’s so grateful to be 75 and healthy. Indeed Amen to that! Bless her and do have many more!

50, 60, 75 or beyond ... admittedly it is that time in life when everybody, both young and old alike regard you derisively, condescendingly, patronizingly, sarcastically, mockingly, irreverently......‘old’. It means just one thing to them --- old... and that to them means shriveled, bland, boring, useless, ugly, and irritating to their perceived landscape of life and living. Really some people can be both mean and cruel sometimes. That is sad.

Allow me to say something.....

Well, I think they just do not understand. A good friend once cheerfully said ….... 'It’s not how they look, it’s what they have made of themselves. It's essence not form, mi amiga!'. .....So then never mind the aching bones, the weak joints, the slowness, the failing eyesight or hearing, the pills nestling permanently in one’s pocket-bag-drawer, and the embarrassing memory lapses. All that and more is just the natural physical journey of the human body.

Rather it's what or how a person has made of himself or created for himself from the snippets of life presented to him that truly defines the person and his life. There is something special in 'old'. Here's why…

It is special.......

1.............to have better learned to consider a fellow being as an equal and loved by the same God. To see him not only through human eyes but through the heart of God and thus understand the struggle, burden, misery or pain behind those sad eyes. And then quickly shoot off a prayer to the heavens above which in turn creates a grace-filled path leading back to that person. It’s special because you have understood well.

2.............to have better learned to act kindly and patiently towards the young whose brazen and foolhardy behavior often get on your nerves. And instead seek to help, enlighten, uncover their potential, unobtrusively train them into the way that they should go, as designed by a good God. It’s special because you have learned to understand the young as they should be understood. Been there-done that.
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3.............to have better learned to accept life with both the good and the bad in it, to have understood that both are requisites for growth. That failing can be a stepping stone to greater success. It's okay to make mistakes, too, but not over and over again. Perfection is not the goal; excellence is. It’s special because you have learned to move in step with the music of life’s universal dance and essentially to God’s design for your life. .

4.............to have better learned to be friends with the sun, moon, stars, trees, seas, rivers, oceans, and the animals of land-sea-air, all the seasons and its changes and that you have a part in its preservation and continuance. It is special because you have understood your role as a steward of God’s work.

5.............to have better learned to separate the wheat from the chaff, to recognize those of true value in the midst of those things which only serve no good thing but waste. It is special because you have gained the ability to peel off unnecessary layers or masks which hide truth. Truth is and always will be the better choice.

6.............to have better learned that everything in life passes through heaven’s doors. Joy, sorrow, misery, success, failure, laughter, tears, and fear --- all can find its solution – hope – inspiration – comfort and consolation when it is passed through faithful prayer. It’s special because you have understood very well that nothing is or will be without GOD.
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If we can be masters at one, at least, then life's journey would be a gem and truly worthwhile. For then we have served some greater purpose. By God's design.

Old is a journey we all take. None exempted. Better to create or recreate it to be the best years of our life yet. We can still be so much more. Blessings from on high. Living it well is our gift back to God.

So then here’s for a ‘Happy Birthday’ to anyone and everyone who may be celebrating a birthday today or in the days ahead before the year ends. Don’t count the years in numbers but in how much and how well you have lived and learned. That is by God's intent and design.

Blessings to you all! In Christ.

ESSENCE IS WHERE YOU ARE AT NOW

This is a repost for a dear special friend who needs to hear this again.  Meet up for lunch again soon.
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This piece was written inspired by a conversation had with bosom buddies over lunch. My pretty friend, in-between bites of roasted chicken, bemoaned the thought (and fact) that she was turning 60 by the end of the month. Oh we comforted and consoled her as friends always do....... with more chicken and pasta and a scrumptious dessert to boot. It works all the time! Anyway, here's the piece.....

SO YOU'RE TURNING 60!

This is you...... "Here I am with lines creeping where I wouldn’t want them to (laugh lines is a nice way to call them), a spreading middle (girdle now being overtaxed and overstretched), silver streaks peeking out of once glorious dark tresses (her favorite beautician texted her one day.... 'ma'm, it's time to die' .... dye Yikes!).

I guess women who find they are blowing out 60 or more candles on their cake would consider those in serious retrospect. And looking at the youthful glowing skin, lithe figure, and silky black hair of gorgeous models on the cover of glossy woman magazines or ads serve only to feed that quiet unease.

But wait, consider this! See these women in your ordinary everyday neighborhood .......... the middle-aged woman selling fish and vegetables in the market; the government employee who sells beauty products on the side; the ordinary housewife who does her chores with clockwork precision each day tending to a rowdy brood of five while a husband is away in Saudi; the rural teachers who patiently trod to their classrooms on gravel roads rain or shine... just to name a few.

All these women are real ------- as real as ice cream cones and pizza pies. They may do a hundred turns before the mirror behind closed doors tremulously tracing age’s progress on their faces and skin, yet they don’t fuss and fret over beauty jars and trips to the gym, beauty clinic, salon or spa. Instead, they get busy as mothers, wives, grandmothers, nieces, aunts, office mate, friend and other more roles laid out before them each day.

Then a friend blurted out this question ............... What if those would be gone one day? (and we know it will) -- When age finally creeps in as bones and joints go stiff and ache --- plus other aches and pains that find you though you try not to be found; skin crinkle with defiant lines; eyes strain to read small print; sleep turn erratic; appetites change; visits to the doctor more frequent; and pills nestle permanently in one’s purse.... When loneliness glides into each day furthermore heightened with the children planning careers and lives away from home...... When all that’s left is an aching void within and without. What then is one supposed to do with all that?

Here's what is true....... Lessons learned from life ----- Life does not stand still for those who enter through this portal. But one does have to make a choice --- to move along in step with the changing times — or stay where you are by your lonesome miserable self.

Life is this........ Rising from the hurts, pains, bruises and bumps of a journey through life’s dusty and more often grueling path of challenges, one should be transformed into a better version of that person of yesteryears. Honed by past experiences and having learned them well, one should be better equipped to see life and the world anew with fresh new interest, appreciation, understanding, and wisdom. This new wisdom tells you that there can be no void where one does not allow it. And if you have paid good attention you will know that to move along is the better option.

Look back often to see what’s gone past or what’s left behind. The past, cruel in some and brilliant in another, have created your passions, desires, expectations putting it all together in one package that people see, interact with, and relate to each day. You were able to give back to life because life has filled you well. Your cup overflowed with a continuing play and exchange of receiving and giving. Times when you dished out master strokes and savored much deserved victories. Euphoria! Then again in another moment you would hit the gutter with sloppy aim and find yourself pulling at your hair in utter disbelief, disappointment, and exasperation. Defeat!

Success and failure, bitter and sweet, good and bad, beautiful and ugly, smart and stupid, joy and sadness, high and low, have and have-not --- you will often find yourself at one end or the other of that broad diverse spectrum. It is a rich life, definitely flawed and imperfect admittedly, .. but totally rich. Learn that what goes on inside a person lends to its richness.

Stay rooted to your history and yet open to the challenges of new things ---- new friendships.. new possibilities.. new awareness, new passions or creativity.. new dreams.. and perhaps a new set of clothes (there's no excuse to be frumpy).

Essence is where you are at in the now. And thank God for such a lovely gift.

Life still can be and is beautiful at or with 60 (or more) birthday candles notwithstanding! A happy birthday to friends celebrating their birthdays this month. Never mind the age.... it's just a number! Happy Birthday! And blessings a hundredfold!