When I change myself, everything changes.
When I have done everything I can to change something in the world and I can do no more, then it’s time for me to change.
My thinking, my perspective on the situation may be an obstacle. Letting go of attachments, fears, and judgments may open the door to messages that lead to something new.
What comes knocking when I am open and willing to receive the message? I call it grace or grandma love – the embodiment of the divine.
I believe that whatever happens comes from “a world directive full of wisdom” (Rudolf Steiner) and it serves me to receive it. Why resist what is for my greater good, even if it is cloaked as a challenge or difficulty?
Whatever it is, if I greet it, welcome it into my life and do what I can to address it in a worldly way, I can begin to find solutions. Answers often come in the form of subtle messages.
Helpers – Both Visible and Invisible
By that, I mean information from both visible and invisible helpers. It may come from intuition, nature, friends, books, or symbols.
While creating my new book, Where Wisdom Meets Wonder, Forty Stories of Grandma Love, I met several challenges, but I persisted. Instead of abandoning the project or the person, I saw them as my teachers.
They would show me what I needed to develop to be ready to receive the precious gift of a successfully published book. And sharing a message that connects me with readers worldwide.
The quality I needed to develop most is trust, to trust that it will all work out. When I do my part, the rest will be taken care of. The book will be published, and readers will find it. I did not need to know how or when.
Graceful Aging
Who knew that the message now trending, graceful aging, would be the one that my book aligns with? Grandma is a woman who has lived enough years to welcome two generations. The name suggests an old woman or rather, one of a certain age.
And baby-boomers are figuring out how we want to age. It’s true that we will not do it like other generations. We have access to all kinds of beauty treatments – hair dye and skin care treatments for example.
The nutrition wave that came in the 70’s taught us how to eat healthily, and the fitness wave that followed provided a template for staying fit.
So, we have access to ways to live longer, healthier lives than the generations before us. And we are not sure how we feel about retiring; we want to stay connected to others and to purpose and meaning in our lives.
In a nutshell, we want to look good, feel good, have fun, and continue to contribute to our community. We are not done yet and will carry on for as long as we possibly can!
When our daughter was pregnant, I joked with women friends that I was going to be a “glamma”. I was told that our grandson would have a name for me. Although it was fun to say to my friends, I knew I would not introduce myself to him as glamma, but grandma.
My German-born husband chose Opi, a form of Opa or Grandpa in German. So, when our two-year-old grandson let us know that he was not buying Opi and Grandma, I became Omi. We have been Omi and Opi ever since.
The baby-boomers who are entering our elder years have choices that generations before us did not have. One choice that we do not and never will have though, is to avoid aging. It is wise to accept the things we cannot change.
Choosing Wisely
And to change the things we can. We cannot choose to never age, but we can choose how we age. Will we let our hair go silver? Will we eat healthily and stay fit? Will we continue to find ways to have an impact on our communities?
And most of all, will we spend time with young children (our grandchildren but not only ours) and sow the seeds of wisdom we have gleaned from living and learning through many decades?
I can say that, for me, being with young children is the best way to stay relevant, young, and connected! Since we know much more now than we did when our children were young, it is the greatest do-over opportunity ever!
And a chance to express the mature divine feminine that I refer to as grandma love.
