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| Ajijic: fallen flowers after the rain |
Recently, as my life took an abrupt turn, I’ve been thinking about this stage of life and about “wise women.”
Talking about this with a friend, we started designing a retreat for wise women. The retreat idea hit a snag, but it left me still thinking about this stage of life and what lessons are to be learned during this time we have left on this planet, in this body.
The questions are many and the answers few. It seems to make sense that the first question might be:
what is a wise woman?
This morning, with my bags already packed for my move to Reno, I woke up with this question in my mind. The answer that came to me was:
A Wise Woman is someone
who has been through the fires of life
and emerged tempered, stronger,
lessons in hand, grateful and generous.
That’s my answer for now, but I would like to hear yours. Please comment below.
Might add with more patience and acceptance in dealing with friends and everyday life's challenges. I find myself seeing bigger obstacles looming and knowing I can manage, but also knowing I must accept limits on what I desire and what I can realistically expect. The important thing is to reduce the stresses caused by events on this downhill ride by doing all we can each day to make a great life, and accepting that the great life might be a little less exciting than what a younger "you" might have envisioned. Thankfully, you have the talent to say all of what I just said in one or two sentences....ha ha....but, hey, I am sharing.....and still engaging....so I am also patting myself on the back for how I am living TODAY!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Judy ... love your input.
DeleteLove this question dear Joyce. A wise woman --she untamed in living her life on her terms, wild of heart and just as wild in her dreams of what is possible. She doesn't worry about 'the end of life', the focuses on this moment right now, just as eager and gracefilled in sharing her knowledge as she is in learning new ways of being free.
ReplyDeleteLouise ... thanks ... love wild of heart and just as wild in her dreams of what is possible.
ReplyDeleteAt church we formed a Women of Wisdom (WoW) group that met to discuss various topics of interest. It was a great group while it lasted.
ReplyDeleteWisdom is: allowing yourself to be vulnerable with those who have earned the privilege to see and hear you in your best and worst moments.
Or, perhaps as Brene Brown might say, it is having the courage to enter the arena, unarmored, assured of who you are and whose you are.
Such an intriguing question, Joyce... and I suspect my answers might shift slightly from one day to the next. But for today, I believe wisdom is about keeping a broader perspective, a willingness to accept and release (and to help others accept and release) "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." I believe wisdom lies in not getting bent out of shape, in staying conscious and confident that somehow all things are working together for good; in being grateful for whatever good we find in the moment and still being willing to work for positive change in any way we can. Willing to forgive, yet aware of our own and others' limitations, with an ability to love, to be gracious, and to be generous with yourself as well as others while maintaining a healthy balance across the whole spectrum of self and community... Im sure there's more, but for now... I do like Maureen/Brene's "assured of who you are and whose you are."
ReplyDeleteJudy, Louise, Maureen and Diane ... thanks for your contributions. I got distracted for awhile but am now sitting here at morning coffee thinking about wise women again and reading your contributions to this post.
ReplyDelete