Cold is when you can’t take pictures because your fingers would snap off like so many icicles.
Cold is 17 degrees below zero.
Cold hurts.
had me feeling rich, rich, rich yesterday.
I loved these posts and want to share one bit
from each that will truly stay with me.
“I’ve learned to ask for what I need and allow myself to receive graciously. My life has become so much more luxurious than it’s ever been and it’s because I refuse to believe the bullshit stories I used to tell myself. ” – Bella Cirovic
“I have such reverence for time. I celebrate things so tiny others might step past them. Every cup of coffee, every smile and kiss from my lover, every time the little ones laugh together it is time blessing me, kissing my path, guiding me deeper.” Hannah Marcotti
“Perhaps what comes with aging is less of a desire to impress and more of a desire to BE myself completely without need of recognition. Perhaps what comes with aging for me is learning what matters most and pouring my reserves into those people and things that fill me up rather than deplete me.” – Denise Andrade
“These days, the journey looks no less precarious: laying down my sword, while knowing exactly where it is and how to swing it, it means learning more about what’s really going on out there, and taking appropriate action.” – Pixie Campbell
“Regardless some of my physical and even some mental complaints (damn you hormones!) I wouldn’t change where I’m at for anything. I am more grounded and self-assured, and sure-footed than I’ve ever been. I’ve got a better outlook. I’m kinder to myself. I’m more resilient in almost every arena. I’m sure of who I am and what I believe.” – Tracey Clark
“All of me wants to say, “Come. I have so much to tell you, so much to offer, so much to give.” But it sounds arrogant, doesn’t it? (The too-long-listened-to voices within still attempt to control and quiet.) And right now, in this very moment, I see myself reflected in the windows that front my desk: a woman in her 50s, questioning her right and ability to speak! I laugh, out loud. Mostly at myself, but also at any who would think me too much and ever dare to say so.” – Ronna Detrick
“Only in hindsight can we see our fears and worries were unwarranted, that insecurities and doubts were just illusions and that we should have taken a risk or dared something new sooner.” – Danielle Dowling
“Self-compassion (and the wisdom of age) has allowed me to see my own beauty. Not the perfect, magazine kind of beauty, but the real kind. The kind that stays with you a lifetime.” – Andrea Scher
“I can boldly state, without flinching or holding back that I AM a master at what I have spent the past 30 years developing. What feels so very good is that I don’t think of this as ego or boasting or trying to pump myself up. This statement doesn’t come from a place of feeling inadequate or like I’m trying to be better than another person. It has nothing to do with anyone else. It’s simply the truth.” – Chris Zydel
And of course, the goddess of the revolution herself, Susannah had something beautiful to say about all this, too:
I love this feeling of wholeness that’s
deepening with every new year. I feel rooted
in who I am, and while I still get tossed around
on hormonal tidal waves, at my core I know myself.
I know what I’m capable of. I know my worth.”
bisous, e
“I know my worth” … That for me encapsulates the whole shebang in one tiny yet staggeringly powerful phrase. We spend so long when we're young NOT knowing our own worth that when you finally find your worth, it feels like you hold the whole universe in your hands.
I'm still not liking my wrinkles though!
you EARNED those wrinkles– they are testament to ALL the ways you have SHINED in this life– all the ways you have struggled and SUCCEEDED at raising your children, carving out a life— people weren't there at 2am when you didn't know if you could get up one.more.time — those wrinkles? they are there to say, HELL YEAH! oh, YES. YOU FUCKING DID! YOU are a rock star and we are not going to let you forget it . . .. xooxoxox, e
O! those photos. I just want to kiss Daisy on her nose. I am struggling with aging. STRUGGLING. It's good to read that others find it so illuminating. Right now, I am mostly seeing the downsides.
such beautiful wisdom gathered.
ditto what daisy said.
Thank you for putting all of those wonderful quotes in ONE BEAUTIFUL place, where I can visit and replenish. I think Croila hit the nail on the head with her comment. (And YES. She did earn those wrinkles…I try to accept those damn stretchmarks in the same way…!!)
that's OKAY Liz—- even though you are YOUNG and WILD and FREE . . . ha. but I hear you and I honor you and am happy to be there for you til the tide turns .. . and it WILL! xxooxox, e
XOXOXOXO
Exactly!!!!
As someone who's 33, you always hear about aging and how bad it is, especially from women. For me, it's so nice to see so many women say so many positive things about the process. I feel like the older I get, the happier I am. I know myself better, I care less about what other people think, and I have a general “fuck it; I'm doing it” attitude. It's easier to let go of those relationships that are nothing but drama & bullshit, and because of that, I think I attract more & more genuine people. Thanks for the inspiration, Elizabeth & others. I hope my generation will really honor age & the beauty of it all!
As someone who's 33, you always hear about aging and how bad it is, especially from women. For me, it's so nice to see so many women say so many positive things about the process. I feel like the older I get, the happier I am. I know myself better, I care less about what other people think, and I have a general “fuck it; I'm doing it” attitude. It's easier to let go of those relationships that are nothing but drama & bullshit, and because of that, I think I attract more & more genuine people. Thanks for the inspiration, Elizabeth & others. I hope my generation will really honor age & the beauty of it all!
yes yes YES you SO got it!!! oxoxoxox — wish I had been as wise at 33 as you ARE. !
Oh Elizabeth … You do make me laugh! Stop it lady, your enthusiasm is making me SMILE … and god knows, that's SO bad for wrinkles! Heheh! It's okay. I jest. Kinda! 😉
Amen, Amen. What a surge of unity I felt yesterday. I learned so much from each and every woman's story. Awesome flow of energy.
yes yes yes !!!! me, too—-xoxooxox
Ah, I have to read these posts!! Thank you for sharing them- delicious truths for us to savor. xoxo
yes yes– but you have lots of time– no worries, no rush! xoxo
Yes!
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Not surprised at all to see you welcoming a new year, a new challenge a new level of sorts with your usual grace and spunk. You, my dear, are such an inspiration. I hit a milestone this past year and I was somewhat shocked to realize I felt so…unsettled about it. Reading this goodness now makes me realize how silly I was being. Xx
Love this post. You and Susana have become emu go-to-bloggers this year for the best doses of perspective and reality on how to be graceful, reflective, and present in my own life. Amen!
ohhh SO glad to know that!!! thank you for sharing– sending BIG love!! xoxoxo
never silly!! your FEELINGS are NEVER silly! they are real– and you need to welcome them and if they make you giggle . . that's good! then release them— there is only THIS moment– how do you feel right now? if you don't feel good, what's one thing you can do/think to shift more toward lightness, toward feeling good? THAT's all age gives you– the awareness that there is only THIS moment now— no future moment– and? do you feel good? I hope you DO! xoxox
“There is only THIS moment” = new mantra.
Done. 🙂