Old Age is A New Page. For my Birthday, And All Those Who Fear The Maturity of Life

Last Tuesday evening, one friend took a photo of me, and another said that I looked old in the photograph. True, I was there in person, but she seemed more interested in the picture and its portrayal of ageism. Is she right? The time has come when folks rise from their seats to give me their slots on buses, and the middle-aged stand, so that I can sit on trains. Talk about Father Time. What a merciless rogue!

He seems to creep up on me these days. One split second and it’s a birthday, then another season and it’s time for one more dance. I’m sure that the child inside the Heart cries, as its interests lies predominantly in playing its childlike games.

Yesterday I stood in front of the mirror at home and it was callous, ruthless, unforgiving, brutal … lard ah mercy! Me soon come, Heaven …me soon come!

Getting serious, old age is a new page! Sure I’m moving on, and for the emphasis of drama, I thought that I’ll embellish this prose a bit, and after all, it’s true, isn’t it? Or is it? I look forward not to the flight of years, but to the dawn of wisdom. I look forward to the beginning of a glorious experience; a beckoning change, and a joyful attitude to enhance progress, in this field of Dharma.

Life simply is, and it is so beautiful to be in the Eternal Now! No heavy elephants of the past on my shoulders; no large whales for the future, but a deliberate flow, in the Sacrament of the Present Moment. Life is always renewing itself. Like the butterfly, it springs forth from another cocoon, and dazzles, ever more beautiful, than it was before.

Life knows that Consciousness is not set to decay, but to bloom and blossom, like the lotus, into a Light of beauty …charm … wonder … as it prepares, in the present moment, for the days ahead.

Some people are as active at ninety, as they were at forty, and their minds are as sharp as their Heart young. They have understood the value of making age an asset, and not a liability to their needs. My spiritual mentor did so much! Way into his seventies, he was still holding functions, until hours before he passed.

We grow young when we know how to delete the fear of the past, and the burden of the future, to see the mortal frame as an asset and not a liability, to accept in order to transform; to mould the sticky clay, until it becomes a beautiful vase.

New ideas … interests … are like sunshine. When we leave the curtain of youth open, then the sunshine will come in. How will it do so, if the age of drawn curtains, are in attendance? We have much to give: To advise, serve, counsel, elevate; to look ahead and inspire others to follow the awe and glory of life.

Retirement is never granted by the Soul, unless it feels that everything else has failed, and it becomes pointless to carry on. Its Light and lustre, will remain shining in its depths.

As we move on, life presents new challenges; new wonders … true, we may not have the vigour of youth, but we can diversify; seek new horizons to augment our talent for the discovery of new dawns.

Old age can be likened to promotion, for now we are able to tackle our interests, things which the assiduousness of work; the daily chores …the hard grind of labour, prevented us from doing as youths. It can be a forward step on the ladder of life, and a means to setting new horizons; new goals. Hungering and burning for new Light, always keep the Soul young and the mind fresh and alert.

One needs to be a Bird of the Heart, and not a prisoner of the mind. It should be fresh like dew, and ready to sing like music, thus imitating the joy of the Soul. Some say that Tennyson wrote poetry in his eighties; Newton showed diligence past that time, and Wesley was a dynamo of Methodism. Old age can imply the contemplation of wisdom, recognising a journey of countless steps, and being a beacon or benchmark for others to follow.

One becomes more mature in Love, meekness, temperance, gentleness and acceptance … the fruits of those virtues, being able to share with all who seek. God is life, and life is self-renewing, ever-transcending, like the beginning of a new day, promising new aspirations, zest and vibrancy to the eager mind and glowing Heart.

We grow old when we cease to dream. So as we gaze into the infinite, let us look ahead at all times, being busy doing the things of substance, with the fullness of opulence in our hearts. We are children of a birthless and deathless Light, ceaselessly streaming its beckoning gleam into the core and Spirit of man.

And so I give thanks to an unknown Entity that brought me into this world; a queen of a mom who kept me in her womb for nine months, singing lullabies that echoed in my Spirit, thus making my feet patter with glee.

Last night, for my Birthday, good friends did things for me that made my heart melt and my Spirit joyful. They sang cute songs and lit candles, and I felt the golden moments of a prayer emerging in my Soul, singing ‘Give God the glory. Alleluia! Praise be!”

Manatita, The Flame-Weaver. Copyrighted, 10^th February, 2016.

~Awakening The Inner Light ~