What Stories do you want to leave behind?
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| Dona Anderson |
Repost of, Pages for you just to be you
Roots to Breath, Dona Anderson
This is the last of the four retirement articles I did for Island Gals magazine in 2012 and posted here March 4, 2013. It is my favorite as writing the other three over the space of a year led me to this one. Also at the time I was working on my upcoming book(not sure of the title yet) and I shared a few lines in this article that still inspire me.
I hope you enjoyed this series!
Pages for you just to be you...
Dona Anderson
My previous stories spoke about retirement being a special time to do things that feed your soul and brings you health and happiness. For me, this included challenges and things that both excited and surprised me. It will continue to be an evolving process to work through while adding that sprinkle of courage on top.
Last issue, I referenced my imaginary life book and filling its pages with lots of good things. I’d like to share a few lines from a meditation I wrote last year. I think it sums up how each new day gives us more opportunities, pages to write, and lets us know we’re not done yet.
“There are pages left for love, family, and friendship …
There are pages for learning, listening, and being still …
There are pages to show your compassion, patience, strength, and courage …
There are pages to fill with gratitude, adventures, hopes, and dreams …
There are pages for you just to be you …
And, there are pages for you to tell us all the things that make your heart light up and sing! “
As I was writing this series of stories I thought about how others I know are using this time, and I thought about those who left us way too early. I thought about how many of our conversations change to health related topics, pensions, finances, downsizing, or senior centres. And, then there are those other conversations that are full of excitement about doing things they’ve always wanted to do or at least try, travelling, buying a new boat or vacation home, having fun, and finally spending the savings. It is also a time to catch up with relatives and old friends, and for meeting and making new friends or relationships.
In yoga we talk about awareness, being present, and how this benefits our lives. I’d like to introduce you to Tadasana, a pose to honor the mountain. It is a pose we return to between standing postures that brings us back to creating a strong foundation. It brings us back into balance with our breath and to feelings of awareness and confidence.
In Tadasana, we stand tall with all our beauty, strength, and power. We establish a place to let go of what comes at us each day, a place to be grounded, and to connect with our breath while we remain alert and strong. It’s a place to connect the mind and body as we open up to feel the aliveness within ourselves. It is a place that reminds us we can always pause between things to find stillness and peace.
In Tadasana, we stand tall with all our beauty, strength, and power. We establish a place to let go of what comes at us each day, a place to be grounded, and to connect with our breath while we remain alert and strong. It’s a place to connect the mind and body as we open up to feel the aliveness within ourselves. It is a place that reminds us we can always pause between things to find stillness and peace.
Like the mountain, we to have survived what’s come at us through the seasons of our life, and we are always changing.
And like the mountain, we will continue to stand tall with all our beauty, strength, and power … and let our observers,
Wonder, Watch, and Admire!
Namaste
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