How do you feel about ageing?

One of my favourite parts of this newsletter is choosing a picture. I love this photograph* I found online. Knife-wielding older women always grab my attention. This woman made me think of all the experiences that we have in our lives and the confidence that comes with it. In my imagination, she caught the fish as well. I am also happy to see more than older people's hands in photos.

In early summer, I mentioned that I would share with you the six core concepts of moving from Age-ing to Sage-ing® in your life. Today I want to talk about the first one: Expanding elder consciousness.

Rabbi Zalman Schacter Shalomi calls this process eldering. He writes, "Eldering implies that we take responsibility for our destiny in old age, living by conscious choice rather than social expectation."

Ron Pevny, author of Conscious Living, Conscious Aging, says,

"There is something life-enhancing and passion-awakening to aim for as we contemplate our elder years. This can be a time of deep fulfillment as we reach the pinnacle of our personal and spiritual growth. Conscious aging is about having meaningful goals for our elderhood that spring from our authentic selves and using the power of intention and inner work to make our vision a reality. It is about having the courage to aim high in an unconscious world."

Don't let the idea of having goals scare you off! It isn't about ramping up and getting on a new treadmill of successful ageing. No botox or gym membership is required (and if that is your thing, no judgement.)

This work is much more internal than external. It's about asking questions about what ageing means to you, looking at your regrets and anything unfinished in your life. Conscious ageing involves looking at your inner ageist. It may include considering an encore career or shifting your focus to your health after a busy job that left little time for self-care.

It is work that is not limited to those who have financial security. As we move into our sixties (or earlier), we begin to face our mortality. In sage-ing, this is the time for expanding elder consciousness.

I've discovered that many of us don't have a place to do this work. We benefit from having a community or group supporting us as we go deeper.

(Note: Ageing and aging are both acceptable spellings. I would love to be consistent but these finer details will probably be overlooked from time to time.)

This blog post was originally published on August 18th.