Happy Month of May! I kind of skipped right over the balance of Spring Equinox while I was transferring my old blog site: 60-Something, 50-Something, 20-Something to here.

Anyway, welcome readers! One of the the things I do regularly is to celebrate the seasons. This one starts with Beltaine. It is one of the most important of the Celtic holidays (see this link for more information: http://www.chalicecentre.net/beltaine.htm).

The seasons teach us about the earth. The swallows and warblers are returning. New growth and wildflowers adorn the hills. Our orca whales are returning to the Salish Sea.

The pageant of holidays accompanies the raw energy of this time.

May Day, Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day.  Don’t even bother with balance right now! Reach out and manifest your dreams.

I have been trying to get used to the name and function of the word “crone”. Failing to really wrap my heart around it. I understand the the three stages…maiden, mother crone of the Celtic model. Obviously, I am not the first two. And if you call me crone, I won’t be offended. But it doesn’t quite fit. Not just me either, It doesn’t fit anyone my age. Recently, I cam across another model called Aging Gracefully by Deborah Willoughby in my Yoga International magazine.

‘Four Stages of Life
The yoga tradition offers a completely different script, one rich with possibility. In this version, the play of life unfolds in a graceful arc from birth to death, becoming more nuanced and rewarding as it moves toward the denouement—perfect fulfillment, not “mere oblivion.” Here we play four distinct roles as the drama of life unfolds: student, householder, forest dweller, and renunciate.

During the student years—childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood—our primary task is acquiring the knowledge and skills we will need to make our way in the world. We draw on these attainments when we become householders, immersing ourselves in the rush and roar of life as we go about earning a living, raising a family, and doing our civic duty.

In our modern script, the third act—retirement—defines us in terms of what we’ve left behind instead of what lies ahead. Up through our late 50s and into our 60s, our energy has been mainly focused on tangible achievements: earning a degree, building a career, raising children, acquiring property, perhaps making a name for ourselves. Now, as these familiar identities and activities fall away, we find ourselves without a clear, purposeful direction.”

UM..YEAH, THIS PRETTY MUCH FITS ME.SHE GOES ON.

“In the script written by the yoga tradition the direction is clear. The student and householder phases of life are a prelude to the ultimate achievement—freeing our attention from outward preoccupations and bringing it to rest at the core of our being. Here, in the third stage of life, we have the privilege of stepping away from the external identities that so easily become all-consuming. By the time we’re approaching our 60s, we’ve lived amidst the rush and roar of life long enough to recognize the outer world is, in the words of Alistair Shearer, “a place of limited charm, a realm hedged in by restrictions and forever being eroded by transience.”

HMMM. CAN IT BE THAT THIS IS WHY I HAVE BEEN SO ATTRACTED TO TREES RECENTLY?

In the traditional culture that gave rise to yoga this was called the forest-dweller stage, not because people literally retreated to the woods (although some did), but because, recognizing the transient nature of external achievements, they withdrew from these pursuits to strengthen their connection with the deeper dimensions of their own being. Theirs was a civilization—stretching back beyond 2000 BCE—deeply immersed in the natural world. The full span of life was 100 years. Read the latest studies on the lifestyle that promotes longevity and you’ll understand why. They ate a plant-centered diet of locally grown organic foods. They walked everywhere. Their households were multi-generational and their communities were woven together in a robust web of interdependence. But above all, they had a vibrant sense of the meaning and purpose of life.”

There is much to this article. I am busy exploring it. You should try it out too. Join me in being a Forest Dweller?

It just sounds right.

From the moment I turned 60, I knew what I had to do. I had to reverse my life. That is, change the habits and ways of my life that age me. I can’t change the fact that my body will age. But I can alter the march toward inflexibility. I can grow my soul and imagination. I can love my family and friends, participate in community, enjoy the stranger, show up and stand up when it’s important. I can soften my footprint on the magnificent and dazzling earth. I can learn to re-define and inhabit the word “Crone”. I can protect and defend many things and let some go. I can soak my heart in gratitude and beauty. And when I cross over to the mysterious land of death which awaits us all, I can go unencumbered and light, having played in the possibilities, cried in alignment for the pain, adored nature and human creativity, and met my purpose.

I laid awake last night thinking about the Do It Yourself movement. Mostly, it is about making your own instead of buying. I love that. For sure, there are too many things in the world and plenty of raw materials to go around. I am certainly not an extremist. To be so would mean I wouldn’t enjoy someone else’s art, music, food or fine furniture. But it is a MINDSET that is so powerful.

Consider the DIY Brain. We now know so much about the plasticity of our gray matter. So, at 61, I can grow dendrites by learning new things. I can take quantum physics and understand enough bits and pieces to get a little thrill when ordinary reality suddenly illuminates before me. I can decide to become a better naturalist, continue to find deeper and deeper meaning n Rumi’s poetry, and find the most organic, shade grown fairly traded coffee for the money.

Now, how about the DIY Body? Mine has taken up making my own medicinal herbs, and is becoming more adept at listening to itself to diagnose and treat illness. My body doesn’t need to to be told what to do, it knows and it teaches and informs me if I listen.

Do It Yourself. Your Life. Hold it in your hands and see its shimmering potential. Then build the reality.