What's New?

What was new in today?

This aging is causing dismay!

Each moment that ticked,

was some time that I licked

throughout this bountiful day!

“Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.”

~ Rose Kennedy

The Sting of Stigma - Revised

The sting of stigma ~ cruel jest wielded with force, needled by

fear, anger and derision

shame, blame, and helplessness.

Peeling away 

stigma’s black mark

from eyes blinded by 

ancient, recent and modern

law, cultural mores and learning,

is painful to think about.

A bitter pill to swallow,

but unconditional antidote ~

Respect and compassion 

Kindness and detachment

Stigma 

is not cured by indifference

does not tolerate indifference.

Aging ~ 

stigmatized rather than honoured

crumples mind, body and soul.

“Ageism is as odious as racism and sexism.”

~ Claude Pepper

Acting My Age

What can I write about aging

that hasn’t been written before?

Getting old is not here, I’m only a kid.

I’m just barely past 64.  

My plan was to reach year 100.

These days, that's not oldest at all.

Hmm.... maybe I’ll shoot for 150,

so I’m really middle aged after all!

“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?”

~ Satchell Paige

Smile at a Stranger

A friend today, early this morning, suggested smiling at a stranger would be good.

The stranger I smile at each morning in the mirror seemed a real likelihood.

I wonder who is she, this stranger? I’m sure I've seen her before.

Her eyes look familiar. I do know that smile.

But what has her life been, and more?

She showed me some pictures from childhood,

so I saw her from baby days on.

Photos that show all the aging through life ~

but between each photo what went on?

So when any of us look in the mirror,

we should smile at the stranger within.

That stranger carries our memories,

so be kind to her or to him.

“Today, give a stranger one of your smiles.  

It might be the only sunshine he sees all day”.

~ Quoted in P.S.I Love You, 

     compiled by H.Jackson Brown , Jr.

What if? ~ 1

I’ve worked steadily for what I have....

I was going to say ‘what little I have’ until I look around me and see that I have so very much more than so many

But....what if by some financial misfortune I have to give all or some of it up?

to move 

somewhere or

to something

not of my choosing.

What if.......

Staying in ‘what if’

using images of other’s pasts

stretches me from

future to past

in a second with 

not a thought of right now.

That’s the worst case scenario.

Now what is the best?

What if......

with creativity and care for family, friends and myself

life proceeds in a relatively, if not good, orderly direction

with ordinary bumps, pot holes and smooth places in the path ahead?

Does that mean 

living and staying in the present moment

with only an eye to choices and goals for the future

using memories of the past only as lessons 

is possible?

Does that mean

creating a scary, frightening scenario 

~ that scenario of aging very ungracefully ~

is not necessary?

Sounds easy ~ now if it weren’t for those darned emotions!

“We really teach ourselves.  If you want to learn,

you will always find someone to learn from, 

be they dead or alive, great or unknown.  You learn 

from everything you see and hear around you 

~ if you are willing to pay attention.

~ Alexander Volkov

When?

When did I start to feel old?

When did the aging set in?

Was it Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday?

At week’s beginning or at the weekend?

I know it wasn’t a Thursday

for Thursdays I’m just up to speed.

It couldn’t have been on a Friday

for on Fridays there’s nothing I need.

Did it sneak in my house in the winter,

when bones ache with moisture and cold?

Could aging have begun in the spring?

Spring’s a time of growth, so I’m told.

Of course, it must have been in the summer,

when everyone’s dying of heat.

But maybe, just maybe, ‘twas autumn

that aging was felt in my feet.

I just can’t think when aging was started.

I don’t even know if I’m old.

So if you ask me the onset of aging,

I can’t tell you ~ your story’s your own.

“There is always some specific moment when we become aware that

our youth is gone; but, years after, we know it was much later.”

~ Mignon McLaughlin

Beacon Hill Children's Farm vs Aging

Aging, a personal and private affair,

is kept from public view, 
examined and studied by science,

managed by health care teams

a source of worry for families

Individually, it is

tucked inside heart and head

odd aches in bones and muscles

worries build with flagging energy

At the Farm, for us all

energy blossoms

aches vanish

worries are dismissed

life and spirit is vital and ageless.

“I’m happy to report that my inner child is still ageless.”

~ James Broughton