I am Living Inside a Prayer Once Whispered

Life is but a dream.

I wrote outside in the garden yesterday. My garden is my chapel with no walls. It is sacred space just outside my door. I do not have to travel anywhere to find sacred ground...I recognize it everywhere. I no longer reach for beauty I am living inside it and allowing it to speak through the circle of life. I never write alone...Angels, guides, ancestors, birds, trees, flowers, Rosie...all bear witness to the unfolding.

It was 36 degrees out and a bit chilly, my breath visible in the air. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and Rosie sat beside me on the Adirondack loveseat. I didn't wait for the perfect conditions. I didn't wait until I felt ready to write. I didn't keep my work hidden. I showed up anyway.

I am living in a prayer once whispered. I am building a life that matches my Soul. One breath, one word, one step at a time. Even the cold could not dim the warmth of my becoming. I gather the light that was hidden within me for a long time. Age has brought out lovely gifts.

I come to the mat. I come to the page. I sit in stillness in the garden and allow my energy to be bathed in nature and the day received me. Just as I am. My whole self. My authentic self. My 65 year old self.

I am no longer chasing my story. I am sitting in stillness where it can find me. This is how wisdom of an older woman flows. Wisdom is beautiful. Presence is powerful. A woman's voice ripens, it doesn't fade as she ages gracefully. Love expands it all with time and it never diminishes.

Older women are treasures to behold with their incredibly beautiful wisdom, presence, depth of character and experience. We are not obsolete or irrelevant. We stand in our truth and in our innate power. We shine brighter with age.

"I am no longer performing

for the old lens --

I am living from a deeper one."

The world may not always know how to look at a woman who has come fully into herself. But children do. Animals do. Those who know the truth and are ready...do. They recognize where the real steadiness lives.

We do not live outside of relevance. We dwell inside of our essence. We are aging gracefully...we are not obsolete. We are not fading...we are becoming more fully ourselves--without apology and without rushing.

We listen more and force less. There is power in that. We no longer need to perform, impress, or compete. There is freedom and quiet liberation in not needing to be chosen by anyone other than ourselves. We recognize what is important, what matters, and definitely what does not.

We carry our lived wisdom with us in our marrow, bones, and cells. Our lives have been shaped by who we are and who and what we love. We have learned boundaries and to hold sacred space without rescuing, fixing, rushing, or abandoning ourselves in the process.

We have become a place where others can rest, are seen, and they feel safe to lean toward us naturally. Not because of what we do, but because of who we are.

Aging gracefully is not about perfection. There will be days when the body aches and there are moments where grief stops by and reminds us of who we once were. There are shifts in the body we might not have asked for, but are there.

Grace does say:

I will meet myself here too,

my voice,

my rhythm,

my way of loving.

The world keeps moving, but love says: Come closer. You are safe here. You are beautiful in your becoming.

Inhale: I honor the life I have lived.

Exhale: I trust the woman I am becoming.

Pause: I rest in what is true.

Aho. Amen.