Dance with Life

Wow! This has been a summer of parties, wonderful summer get togethers out in the sun and under the stars. A summer for living it up with plenty of outdoor activities; swimming, biking, gardening, kayak and dragon boating, camping, art and music, family and friends. I feel very fortunate to live such beautiful experiences. I hope you have had a glorious summer too. And if not, I wish you sweet tenderness and a change in fortune.

Summer days are fading into Fall. I am wondering if your plans include an exercise regime and a menu full of freshh vegetables and fruit (I certainly hope so!). Perhaps you are going to try something new like Yoga or T’ai Chi or maybe painting or singing? Fall is a wonderful time to get active; to pick apples, make preserves, can tomatoes and pickle beets, to go for drives and take walks in new places, to visit museums, take pictures of the Fall colours and close up gardens for the winter.

The honour and privelage of life is to live it. I hope you are living yours to the fullest, enjoying the richness and beauty that is vibrating right infront of your nose. The beauty of a magnificent blue sky or the melodious gift of bird song or the purr of a contented cat. Simple pleasures can fill you up with joy. You just have to be present enough to appreciate them. If you are spending your time complaining … Stop. If your words are negative … Be Silent. If your thoughts are heavy and glum … Feel Gratitude for Something. Choose to dance with life, rather than fight with it.

The concept of self responsibility is not sufficiently valued in our culture. But there you have it, whether you like it or not, your actions, your thoughts and your words are determining factors in your life. They create your life. I invite everyone to embrace more fully the notion of self responsibility. I encourage everyone to take the necessary steps and actions required to improve health and quality of life – in those ways that you can. Be aware of your actions, thoughts and feelings, and, how they affect you and others. Right the wrongs. Be courageous. Be honest with yourself. Take action. We are not perfect. We are human. People often say “It’s hard.” No, it is not hard – fighting yourself is hard. Feeling angry and miserable is hard. Being unhappy is hard. Taking care of yourself and your needs is to give love to yourself. Come on you deserve it. What I write probably seems incredibly simplistic. Maybe so … but also powerfully effective.

And for some, at the moment life is hard perhaps due to illness or broken heartedness or confusion or deception or financial insecurity. Life is challenging. We suffer hardships; the hardships of youth, the hardships of middle age, the hardships of aging. Hardship is part of life, of learning and growing. We can not seriously expect not to have any! The key lies not in denying hardship, but rather, in HOW we handle hardship. I know I sound like a broken record, but what we think, what we believe, what we fear and how we act transforms experience. Surely there is someone on the planet who is suffering more than you. Be grateful. Calm down and relax. Open to the spiritual dimension of being and “see the light” so to speak. Revel in the lightness of being rather than in the heaviness of being.

I have been young, foolish, dramatic, confused and angry. I am no longer. I would not trade in the peace of mind I have acquired to be 20 again … although I might like to stay 50 for another 10 years. It gives me great joy to share joy, love and understanding. Through the exchange of knowledge, experience, passion, vitality, resources, spontaneity, courage, fearlessness, understanding etc. we help each other and create more meaningful experiences. I can’t think of a time when an intergenerational exchange is more needed than now. I want to be part of a revival of intergenerational ties and exchanges. We all have so much to give to each other. Important individual and social needs can be met through simple intergenerational exchange. I believe that we can heal many of the present social ills and those coming down the pipeline by creating an active and engaged intergenerational community life. Won’t you join in? Be well my friends.

Lisa