Old Age Is A Gift

Soundtrack: Ebbtide

For age is opportunity no less
Than youth itself,
though in another dress;
And as the evening twilight slips away,
The sky is filled with stars,
invisible by day.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
from Morituri Salutamus

Photo via the 'net

Old Age Is A Gift ~Anon (Contributed by Sandra Cassell)
Grow Old Along With Me ~Mary Chapin Carpenter (Contributed by Kenny Rinehart)

A MorningStar Assemblage
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Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home ~Bashô

The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old.
I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old.

Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed,
but I explained that it was an interesting question,
and I would ponder it, and let her know.

Old Age, I decided, is a gift.

Grow old along with me - the best is yet to be
When our time has come - - we will be as one

God bless our love - God bless our love

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be.
Oh, not my body!
I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles,
the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt.

And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror
(who looks like my mother!),
but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life,
my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly.

As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself.
I've become my own friend.
I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed,
or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need,
but looks so avante garde on my patio.

I am entitled to a treat,
to be messy,
to be extravagant.

Grow old along with me - - two branches of one tree
Face the setting sun - - when the day is done

God bless our love - God bless our love

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon;
before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer
until 4 AM and sleep until noon?

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 & 70's,
and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body,
and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to,
despite the pitying glances from the jet set.
They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful.
But there again,
some of life is just as well forgotten.
And I eventually remember the important things.

Spending our lives together - - man and wife together
World without end - - world without end

God bless our love - God bless our love

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken.
How can your heart not break
when you lose a loved one,
or when a child suffers,
or even when somebody's
beloved pet gets hit by a car?

But broken hearts are what give us strength
and understanding and compassion.

A heart never broken is pristine and sterile
and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough
to have my hair turning gray,
and to have my youthful laughs
be forever etched into deep grooves on my face.

So many have never laughed,
and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive.
You care less about what other people think.

I don't question myself anymore.
I've even earned the right to be wrong.

Grow old along with me - - whatever fate decrees
We will see it through - - for our love is true

God bless our love - God bless our love

So, to answer your question,
I like being old.
It has set me free.

I like the person I have become.
I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here,

I will not waste time lamenting what could have been,
or worrying about what will be.

And I shall eat dessert every single day.
(If I feel like it)

May our friendship never come apart
especially when it's straight from the heart.

May you always have a rainbow of smiles on your face
and in your heart forever and ever.

True friends are forever.
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MorningStar for people

To submit comments, requests or materials,
contact me at outreach@dawncoveabbey.org

For empowerment workshops, seminars and lectures, see: http://www.dawncoveabbey.org /healing-circle

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