My body will turn 65 years old tomorrow.
The days of breaking my body ‘in’ are long gone.
Now it is breaking ‘down’ that begins in earnest.
The hairs once on my head, thinner and more white, are increasingly ending up tangled in my brush, while those growing in my ears seem to be getting thicker and stiffer.
I’ve got a brand new ceramic left hip, and a replacement right one coming in five weeks.
There’s more, and lots of it, but here’s the point . . . I’m officially crossing into ‘old guy’ . . . not a kid anymore.
So why do I still feel like one?
***
The Buddhist teachings are clear: we are not our body, but we do experience our physical realities through it.
In this way, our bodies are our homes.
At least for now.
While this is still the case, I believe the focus is clear . . .
We must be the very best physical beings we can be, skillfully working within this material environment.
We do this by nourishing our minds to guide our bodies and the words and actions that emerge from them . . . to be as wise, compassionate, kind and empowering as we can possibly be. Every day, everywhere we go, with everyone we are with.
***
This life will one day end, and that day is growing closer.
Bits and pieces of ‘me, myself and I’ are constantly aging, maturing . . . decaying.
This is true of me, and everyone reading this.
So what . . . here’s what’s important:
What we do during our lives has and will continue to ripple outward, directly and indirectly, touching and inspiring countless others across all times and far-reaching places.
Our life products . . . our Influences.
Personal responsibility of the most beautiful sort . . . vast, delicious and endlessly important.
To genuinely see this is to joyfully own it.
Consider it your music, your movement in the eternal dance.
Age matters not.
Old body/kid-like mind.
La-dee-da . . . perfect partners.
Make . . . and share . . . your own soundtrack.
***
~Neither grief or a broken heart, or fear, (or aging) precludes you from participating.