Some call it sage-ing to sugar-coat a
passage that is unimaginable for others.
Many resort to Botox, fillers, or plastic surgery to preserve a more
youthful appearance. And, some come to
peace with the effects of time delineated with lines and less elasticity of skin.
Years ago, my mother gifted me a
beautiful pictorial “Wise Women.” This book
is filled with gorgeous pictures of late life women in their natural state sharing
a bit of wisdom. A different kind of beauty shines through in each photograph
taken by Joyce Tenneson.
Yet many days, each of us looks in the morning
mirror in judgment of this wisdom passage that shows the trails and trials of
our lives. That judgment is very
infrequently what others see about us.
It reflects our obsession with comparison that so fostered in a
competitive society.
I once commented to a friend about my
crooked fingers in a derogatory manner. She commented that she thought my hands
were beautiful. I could only see my
mother’s hands bent and crooked by time and arthritis.
While I sometimes lament letting my
auburn hair turn to silver, I have come to appreciate it and how it lights up
the sides of my face. Another discovery
was doing a facial recently. With the
elastic, peal off, substance applied to my face, I looked like a teenager. My awareness then moved to how unlived
that face was. I could then see the
beauty of time’s passages. My “Howdy Doody”
smile lines, I’ve come to accept, are far better than having lived a life of
frowns.
Acceptance and appreciation of the face and
body that time has created are where in lie wisdom. Moving away from the
physical vehicle, the overarching aspect of time and grade on the planet become
the sum of all our years of experience. We are the totality of all our life
lessons as the decades accumulate. We
experienced the high, highs and the low, lows and everything between. Hopefully we’ve seen some things majestic and
seen birth and renewal-humans, animal, plants, and seasons.
We enter the Winter Moon with
menopause. Hot flashes are sometimes
associated with bursts of energy that many women experience as the physical
reproductive period surrenders to the productive period. No more care taking as children leave the nest,
spousal changes occur, and it becomes time to perhaps pick up the pieces of forgotten
dreams and aspirations. We now complete the trinity of Maiden, Mother, Crone.
Once we’ve made peace with aging, reviewed
the lessons of the decades, done our inner work, and are ready for the grande
finale, we are set free. Doesn’t mean
that all is smooth sailing. The difference is that perhaps we can surrender more
to the “just is” challenges, acquire a sense of humor about our follies, and
treasure the time left to enjoy and be of service. Our body sloughing off as
the years accumulate can lighten our metaphysical load and smooth our ultimate
passage back to the stars from which we came.
If we are fortunate, we can share our
accumulated wisdom as we pass off the baton to the generations that will follow
us. Write your story, it is a wondrous tale to tell. Perhaps you can be the stabilizing force for our grandchildren as
they pass through their teens. Until we
cross that Rainbow bridge, we can live out the lives of our mothers whose time
restricted them from so doing, as Gloria Steinem suggested. Finally, we can adapt an affirmation for ease
and grace, spread our wings, and let hope float up.
"The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a Woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she knows." Audrey Hepburn
"Just because you're grown up, and then some, doesn't mean settling into the doldrums of predictability. Surprise people; surprise yourself." Victoria Moran
"The silvered glamour of the Woman of the Winter Moon may be woman in her greatest power; woman in her guise as Elemental, as Force of Nature. This is woman to be revered. She is a concentration of feminine wisdom gathered and concentrated over the years, blended with the astral knowledge of the soul-star, and blessed by the traditions of the Sacred Feminine that she has made herself, or resurrected from Time, and passed living, and intact, to her daughters."
Elizabeth S. Eiler Ph.D
"The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a Woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she knows." Audrey Hepburn
"Just because you're grown up, and then some, doesn't mean settling into the doldrums of predictability. Surprise people; surprise yourself." Victoria Moran
"The silvered glamour of the Woman of the Winter Moon may be woman in her greatest power; woman in her guise as Elemental, as Force of Nature. This is woman to be revered. She is a concentration of feminine wisdom gathered and concentrated over the years, blended with the astral knowledge of the soul-star, and blessed by the traditions of the Sacred Feminine that she has made herself, or resurrected from Time, and passed living, and intact, to her daughters."
Elizabeth S. Eiler Ph.D
