Elder Journey

Ever get that feeling - something is different and you just can’t put your finger on it. Or maybe you’re listening to a song and you hear “something’s happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear..” You don’t know when you get that feeling and it isn’t always tragic, a catastrophe or personal event. And now you have to work through it because the event is one thing - the process you go through - the transition - is yours and yours alone.

Change is an event - transitions are a journey - a continuously unfolding future. It has always been this way - timeless and unique for each of us - like rocks on the shoreline - the water every so slowly wearing away the surface to yield - not sure. The way the water washes over the rocks is as important as what it yields.

Where we are - physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually - is never neutral - shaping our behaviors and actions which over time reflect who and what we are as individuals, within groups and among communities. Ways we connect have changed. Work environments have changed. We have changed. How we transition is as important as the change itself. Yet, at the core - human values and physical laws remain.

When the way we look at the world changes - our world changes. Being positive does not mean everything will work out - it means being ready to accept however things work out. This takes time. Be kind to yourself and others. If you don’t take care of yourself how can you even think of helping others?

Consider exploring elder mastery as part of your journey. You can be an elder at any age.

Elder Reflection

If the world is our perfect mirror - a reflection of our joys and challenges - how can we harness the power of the insights we gain? And what would we like to reflect back upon the world? Reflection comes in many forms crystalizing our inner journey of personal and spiritual exploration. We can discover deep sources of intuition, creativity and wisdom. One way to harness the power of reflection is adding a life review to your practice and harvesting moments from the cycle of your life. It can bring a profound awareness of wholeness. We tend to forget many of our experiences through childhood, adolescence, middle age to wherever you are now. I am beginning to understand that I had many great experiences in my life - I just wish I had be more present for them. Now I can grasp the larger patterns that connect them. As moments surface you reflect on them without judgement. You might do these in cycles, seasons or months. For myself, I chose seven-year periods over twelve months which puts me in the October of my life. Each time I go back to add to my life review I find my memory is sharper and more focused as stories and scenes surface - long hidden from my consciousness. The richness of our lives are both joyful and sorrowful, we need to take it all in for the overarching pattern to emerge. Often there are incomplete stories that may yearn to be completed - made whole. while others may be best left incomplete. This exercise becomes part of an elder mastery practice and does not need to be finished all at once - it can be picked up over time. In fact - you really don’t need to commit anything to paper - reflection can be done anywhere, anytime and for however long you choose. It it’s to be - it’s up to you.

Elder Values

Seeing a rainbow makes my heart stop - a double rainbow - well - that’s something miraculous that inspires a lot of wishful thinking, dreams, hopes and desires. What’s behind it all? Our journey every so often pauses long enough for us to take in these moments and think about what we value today as our future unfolds.

Most of the time I suspect we are unconsciously aware of our surroundings and have to work at being consciously aware of what is core in our lives. Values are values - there is nothing particularly unique about elder values other than our attention to them and a deeper understanding that they are the inner foundation of our outward principles. Together, they create a moral compass governing our behaviors and defines who we are.

Values can be viewed through three lenses - work, character and personal. Rare to get them to overlap or align throughout our journey. As we think about harvesting the gifts of our lives we would benefit by thinking of the values we hold - and decide which ones matter most to us. When we know our own core values we can be more present for the moments that matter. Values are yours - not someone else’s and not what others say they should be.

Rainbows can be the currency of aspirations. Elder Nomads ask themselves if it is the right thing to do, within their potential and part of the role their soul intends to fulfill.

Elder Nomad

Nomads can be defined as people who move from place to place. An Elder Nomad - those of a greater age than others around them - hence elder - may be moving in a different way - it might be between physical, mental, emotional and spiritual realms. They might be digital, local, even spiritual - movement is a characteristic - not always physical.

Often romanticized as having wanderlust I suspect it may be more wander-lost - searching for meaning and purpose by looking to a future “out there” rather than being here now - exploring what is before them. How they go about their exploration is worth discussion.

Elder Nomads see the possibilities each day brings - being wonder-lust in their practice towards mastery - akin to when they were young when experiences felt new and exciting. They express gratitude for each day - good or bad - happy or sad. Maybe that perspective comes with time. Some have always been nomadic - others are learning at a later stage.

Elder Nomads thrive in transition - accepting change as a natural order of the universe - experiencing a range of emotions in the hope of catching moments of insight. Elder Nomads are as varied as the life history they bring forth on their journey.

Each of us should welcome our own nomadic journey bringing greater self-awareness and awakening to the timeless connections we have to each other. You can be an elder at any age. You can be a nomad at any stage. Embrace the wonder. If it’s to be - it’s up to you.

Elder Mastery

The journey begins whenever you are ready - starts from where you are and moves forward however long you consciously choose to practice. There is no end game - it is infinite and continuous. My first recollection of mastery was reading the book Mastery by George Leonard. Five steps seemingly so simple: instruction, practice, surrender, intentionality, edge and yet so difficult to stay the course when younger. In the elder third of my life I move away from being the dabbler, the obsessive or the hacker. I am finding the discipline to become a better version of myself each day. I try, I fail, I try again so that one day…