55 & Over: The Art of Aging

Finding a final philosophy

By Richard E. Reed
For the Beacon

Who are you? Why are you here? Have you accomplished anything meaningful, maybe even momentous in your life? Has your time spent on this planet been fully enjoyable and worthwhile for you and for others?

Most of us don’t really think of these ultimate, impossible questions. Yet as you read this essay, you might find value, maybe even comfort, in reflecting on them. Your life can be similar to a great poem; it should have rhythm, meaning, a solid beginning, fulfilling middle and satisfactory ending. To help you think about this, a quote from Anam Cara, a book of Celtic wisdom, may help:

“Poets are people who become utterly dedicated to the threshold where silence and language meet. One of the crucial tasks of the poet’s vocation is to find his (or her) own voice. When you begin to write, you feel you are writing fine poetry; then you read other poets only to find that they have already written similar poems. It takes a long time to sift through the more superficial voices of your own gift in order to enter into the deep signature and tonality of your Otherness. This is a voice within you that no one, maybe even you, has ever heard. Find the true music of your own spirit.”

Professionally, you may not be a poet. But you are an intelligent, curious human being. You are investigating this most curious subject, “The Art of Aging”, so you have the ability to think like the poet does. Reflect on the “deep signature and tonality of your Otherness”. What is that voice within you which no one, not even you, may have ever heard?

Most scientists agree that all matter, all life, is made up of vibrations, music if you wish, the music of your spirit which makes you who, and what, you are. Can you hear it? Can you feel it?
Now that you are older, you have the opportunity to allow the time and your wisdom to experience this “silence of the poet”, that magical place where creativity and self-discovery happen.

Think about it. Take long walks with yourself and explore interior parts of you. Make friends with your hidden potential. Say “hello” to the Otherness in you. Then act on this new information; create a new career for yourself in this fertile, final stage of your life.

This little exercise could transform the rest of your life. Now is the time to re-create yourself and give to the world what is the best within you. You may find that you’re a teacher, a philosopher, a caregiver, a volunteer, a friend, a more happy and fulfilled person. You may even be a wonderful new poet whose powerful voice will create new music for our old, tired, needy world.

For further articles by Richard Reed, visit his blog: www.artofaging.blogspot.com