the juicy years

Growing old gracefully ...disgracefully ... outrageously ...or whatever other term that's been used to embrace ageing in the last few years, has now been replaced with a more optimistic term "Positive Ageing" - the principles of the Positive Psychology movement. Our ability to have a more positive experience, compared with peers who are perpetuating the old paradigm (that ageing is fraught with misery), has a lot to do with our attitude, personal qualities and flexibility. Cultivating flexibility I think is a key indicator of how we reframe our lives in these years. It requires us to feel and think differently, to counter any maladaptive patterns by engaging in life-enhancing practices. Some of these are altruistic, others may be practising gratitude, and appreciating what you have to offer to the world. Go on now, write a list of your qualities, skills and resources! And think about how some of these could be used creatively to enhance your life or the li...

art by Bouvette To come fully into our wise years we are called to balance our feminine and masculine energies, and become aware of our inherent divinity. Most spiritual traditions believe that the more we are aware of our interconnectedness with all that is, the more we will honour and become stewards of our fragile planet.   So juicy elders, I believe that we have a HUGE role to play in assisting others to NAVIGATE the challenges in the future. Our combined lived experience, our skills, our creativity (yes, did you know that our mature mind is often more creative than a youthful one), our empathy and compassion for others, and hopefully, our commitment to preserving our planet for our grandchildren - what a difference we could make with our accumulated effort and wisdom! As wisdom is not automatic because of our years, so some keys to help grow this wisdom are: *   Surrendering our ego, and confronting any death and loss   consciously. * Having th...