I like winter. Well, let me rephrase that, I like winter in Providence.
After being buried alive in 168″ of snow one winter (hello New Hampshire!) and lifted off my feet and slammed into the side of a library by Mach-10 winds (thank you Wisconsin!) what they call winter here is nothing more than a bit of frosting on a few pretty streets.
It’s never cold.
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.
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.
Of course, it’s all relative, right? Someone moving to Providence from Louisiana, for example, might feel that they were living on the arctic circle.
Age is that same way. It’s all through your lens.
Susannah’s inspired gathering of reflections on aging
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.
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
“which is when you realize forty is not the new twenty. forty is not the new thirty. forty is forty because calling it anything else would be wrong. borrowing from another decade would be an insult and pretending it’s something it’s not means you’ve missed the point entirely. forty is forty and what you know in your heart is that you wouldn’t have it any other way.” – Andrea Jenkins
“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
“I have softened so much over the last few years, allowing certainty and control to fall away and make room for mystery and curiosity.” – Sas Petherick
“What does it matter what someone else thinks? What matters is what I think of me and the way in which I conduct my life, treat myself, and treat others I love and care about. And what I notice about this attitude is that it works like a magnet. It attracts the type of people I wish to interact with and be close to and keeps away a lot of negative people and those negative, annoying interactions that can be so draining. It cuts out the bullshit. It forges authentic, genuine connections that make for a positive life.” – Susan Tuttle
“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
“And I say mysterious because it seems that our society and culture have almost exclusively been teaching us one view of aging, and that is one of decline not one of expansion, vibrancy and aliveness like no other.” – Marisa Anne
“I slowly started caring less and less about what I looked like on the outside. My priorities started to shift towards feeling good, doing positive work in the world and surrounding myself with the people I love.” – Flora Bowley
“It’s not that beauty (in all its forms) is stunted, but the perception of beauty is. It’s like not being able to see all of the colors of the rainbow. A fixation on just a few, and you’re unable to see the beauty of each one.” – Randi Buckley
“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
“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
“I feel more alive right now than I ever have before.” – Ali Edwards
“I am here. I am beautiful. I am powerful. I am brave. I am scared. I am alive. And I am grateful.” – Marianne Elliot
“And though that’s not what this post was about, I think it’s my 41 years that gave me the courage to press publish.” – Tanya Geisler
“Just by living it seems, we manifest our selves. How wonderful is that? We create ourselves by taking in life and sculpting it.” – Jo Hanlon-Moores
“To be able to feel and hold and see the beauty and the shit that make up this gorgeous, crazy, sometimes really hard life.” – Liz Lamoreux
“And when I blow out all those candles that shine a light on where I’ve been and where I’m going, I’ll make a wish for me and you: for the strength to choose happiness in the now, in the aging, in this life we get to live.” – Liv Lane
“I’ve come to love aging because it has taught me such honest gratitude. In the contrast between what is and what won’t be, I learn with a gasp: this, this. Now, now!” – Jen Louden
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. – See more at: http://www.superherolife.com/2014/02/you-are-beautiful-2/#sthash.q07AKNa2.dpuf
“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
“You know exactly what counts as an amazing time — whether you’re a person who sincerely loves being in a crowd, or would really rather spend time in solitude or with a few friends or family — and you know how to do it without apologizing. You know what kinds of activities feed your soul, and which ones sap your spirit, and you act accordingly.” – Karen Walrond
“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:
“The fact is, I love being older.
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.”
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.”
Daisy says, “amen, sisters!”
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. 🙂