Aging Gracefully

I’ve been reflecting lately on decline. As in, of the body. This life on this planet, as it goes through its various transitions.

The inevitable contracting that must happen after we’ve done our full bloom. Noticing the resistance to this.

The other morning, I sank into a very sweet spot of surrender into the inevitability of this return to the Source. I had the sense of relaxing – so deeply. Just letting it come. Letting myself start to feel the ebb of this tide that I have known myself to be. Letting myself realize that it just may be that I have accomplished my greatest works. That I am on the decline.

And – it is O.K.

It’s also OK if more comes up for me to do. To accomplish. To share. It is likely whatever that is will be from a calmer, less frenetic pace these days. More likely that my sharing comes from the deep Inner Stillness that nourishes me in ever greater capacity as this beloved form that my body has been begins its decomposing process.

Eckhart Tolle speaks of the inevitability of the contraction after expansion in his book The New Earth. This is not exactly new news, but how many of us actually think it applies to us? I mean – our very own, one, single self? Declining. Coming back to roost – with less energy, less vitality, less vim. Our urges may still be there, but as so many old-timers are heard to say, “My get-up-and-go got up and went.”

NOW I know what they’re talking about! I get it.

And, amazingly – it is O.K.

I know I said that twice. That’s the other thing I’m noticing. I savor things more. Repetition is realized to not necessarily represent forgetfulness so much as letting things come around again. We don’t mind repeating and savoring and slowing down what we’re enjoying.

Steeping in the broth. Enjoying it all a little bit more a little bit longer.

It seems things are speeding up all around us; and although I’m pretty sure this is factually true, it is also true that we are slowing down.

That’s the joy of aging. I really do mean that.

It really is quite delicious – this savoring of this moment. No matter how long it has taken us to notice it.

Stillness

Many of us long for respite from all the busyness of life. The hectic pace that fills our days.

How do we find calm in the middle of all that “needs to be done”? Here’s what I’ve noticed: Any circumstance, no matter how chaotic in appearance, does contain a still, quiet kernel of truth awaiting our recognition. The "eye of the storm" is aptly named. We can think in terms of staying in the presence of the "I-in-the-Center" regardless of any uproar. The eternal Self which is changeless, timeless and ever present can be our focus at any time.

It is often the chaos of our own minds that we are dealing with. When we attend to the inner spaces, many of our external circumstances clear up on their own. Sometimes having greater clarity of thought permits us to make proper choices relative to a situation. At other times clearing the misperceptions of our own mind is all that is required to see a clearer, less troublesome reality.

What does this mean: "clarity of mind"? Like a still pool with perfectly clear water, our minds reflect with a great intensity of accuracy when quiet. Quiet. Hard to even imagine in today's society, with its bustling noise. Most people are in constant stress. Yet, it is precisely in these circumstances that we most need to quiet our minds ... to be still.

If we are accustomed to nonstop activity, it may take a while to slow down enough to even notice that we have thoughts. At times it requires of us to stand apart from the busy world to remember how to be quiet.

We must start within, even in the midst of the hubbub. Especially in the hubbub. Taking a deep breath can relieve some of the tension we carry in any moment. At an even deeper level, we can breathe into the awareness of the eternal breath. Notice – just notice – the thoughts zooming by. As thoughts. Things zipping through our minds.

Not us. These thoughts are not who we are.

We are eternal in the truth of us. The deep quiet and joy of the Garden of Eden still exists, and the only requisite to get back is to come back to Center. Herein, we have begun the journey home.