Aging well
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Summer memories: “The Art of Collecting Beach Stones”
“Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.” ~Jenny Han, The Summer I Turned Pretty Summer is in full swing and Fourth of July celebrations are gearing up. Some of you will be heading for the beach or hitting the highway for a road trip. With that in mind, I’ll revisit a few previously published posts and articles with a summer theme over the next week. Here’s a favorite essay I wrote for Michigan Blue magazine on the art of collecting beach stones. To read it online, please click here. Wherever you live, I hope the sun is shining! ~CL
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Embrace your age
“Every year brings you closer to expressing your whole and healed self. I celebrate that. Honor it. Hold it in reverence. And I’m grateful for every age I’m blessed to become.” ~Oprah Winfrey The key phrase in today’s quote from Oprah is “your whole and healed self.” All of us suffer deep emotional wounds throughout our lives. Nobody leaves this world unscratched. One of the gifts of aging is the informed perspective we earn from years of experience. And how well we age depends on our attitude as well as the choices we make. We can dwell on the past and rehash our list of regrets; or we can move…
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Who’s in the driver’s seat?
“I don’t want to be a passenger in my own life.” ~Diane Ackerman I love driving on the expressway, especially on beautiful summer days. When I’m heading north, for instance, I often recall my childhood vacations. My father always drove on those trips — Mom was always a passenger — and I had the back seat to myself. I loved watching the landscape change as we escaped the cities and suburbs. Metaphorically speaking, sometimes it’s nice to let go and let someone else do the driving. Sometimes we just want to sit back, roll down the windows, and enjoy the ride. And there’s nothing wrong with that — unless we’re…
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No regrets
“Life is a lot more fragile than we think. So you should treat others in a way that leaves no regrets. Fairly, and if possible, sincerely.” ~Haruki Murakami At dinner last night, a neighbor texted to tell me that the husband of a former neighbor had died suddenly. The man was only in his sixties, and his death was one of several losses in our neighborhood over the past year. We’re reminded, at times like these, to treat each other with care, sensitivity, and respect. And no matter how old we are, we can start by setting aside our pride (or grievances) and telling our loved ones how much they…
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Every age you’ve ever been
One of the perks of my monthly “Aging with Grace” workshop is the sense of validation I get from the other women in the group. Through our discussions over the past couple of years, I’ve discovered that I’m not alone with my age-related fears, dreams, or aspirations. In a recent conversation, one of the women admitted that she still feels like the same person she was in her youth — which reminded me of today’s quote from author Madeleine L’Engle. Everyone quickly agreed that we each carry all the ages we’ve ever been inside us — even though our appearance has changed. Imagine what you’d say if you had an…
