I AM many things. A wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, friend. Artist, writer, poet, story-teller. I love fiercely, care deeply, act with intention. No matter what my role, no matter how I am in this world, none of who I am is diminished by the label, senior citizen.
Sometimes, we wear a label as if it makes a difference to who we are and how we are in this world. A label is not our identity. It is not a reflection of our worth. It simply is what it is, a label of no value to the quality of our life. It’s only value is it works as a road marker to help us see where we are on the road of life.
A label sometimes serves to put us in a box. Sometimes, we call the box our comfort zone. Our familiar ground. Our ‘special place’.
What if there is no box?
What if we LIVE as if there is no box?
What if we choose to view our lives as limitless fields of possibility that greet us every morning with their invitation to run, wild and free, amongst the wildflowers blowing in the winds of change and opportunity, through the trees whose leaves are unfolding and dropping, unfolding and dropped in a continuous circle of renewal?
What if… There is no box!
It’s been an amazing week of fullsome conversation, sharing and for me, a lot of internal exploration, growth and learning.
Thank you. I am so very grateful for each of you. For this beautiful opportunity to keep growing and becoming more of me.
Have a beautiful, sunny-shiney bright kind of weekend!
Dare Boldly 
Today on BBC online is a pictorial history of the late Queen Elizabeth II. One of the photos show her celebrating her 80th birthday with this caption:
Queen quoted Groucho Marx dictum on ageing in a speech to celebrate her official 80th birthday saying, “Anyone can get old, all you have to do is live long enough.”
Interesting that she does not say a number or refer to the fact it was her 80th birthday. My take is that OLD is a label, just not defined in terms of a number. Ergo,
no longer shall OLD be in my lexicon.
Enjoy this beautiful weekend, at least here in Ontario, aka the Middle Kingdom.
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it was an open and accepting sharing of thoughts.
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Those are truly the best kind! I am so grateful for your sharing. ❤
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Well said my friend
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Thank you!
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Let go of labels and opinions … and see what remains 💖
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Ahhhh!!!! The juicy parts of life! ❤
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I needed to read this. Thank you.
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I am grateful it was there for you when you needed it Susan — you do so much for others, it’s a lovely feeling to know my words helped you. ❤
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A box, what box? I must have broken out of my box way back when, still on the farm. I was allowed to wander from farmhouse to barn. If my Mother saw Billy, the stallion out in the field when my Dad was away in the daytime she knew I would be on his back holding onto his mane enjoying the ride. If she saw the cows coming back to the barn midday ( a no-no!) all she had to look for was a stick in the air to know it was me. The grasses were my hidey place and I thought I was invisible AND invincible too 😉
If there was a box in my later years, I must have been “superwoman”. I entered a paramilitary workforce, male-dominated, and never looked back. Any setbacks I encountered I took as a challenge not an obstacle.
Labels – there were a few, mostly in “you are a woman, ergo you are aggressive.” How many times was i told if I had been a man, the label would have been assertive.
I am now in another chapter of my life – aging with grace, damn proud of it for all that happened prior to this chapter provided a sold foundation to enjoy “my aging with grace chapter.”
Labels, boxes, these are words, concepts for others to throw about freely. I understand and accept that some need these to give them structure and support on their respective journey. Whatever works as long as it is positive, does not hurt or malign one, and serves its intended purpose.
Do enjoy the weekend.
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That image of you on the stallions back, or the stick amidst a herd of cows — divine!!!!
And yes, labels, boxes, — words and concepts to give structure.
As I was reading your wonderful words, I was thinking about that word ‘aggressive’ as used for women — I wonder if we change the male one to “he’s an asshole” if maybe it would be more accurate. 🙂 And… help get rid of the need to compare? Maybe if we all celebrated the value of being assertive, regardless of our gender, we wouldn’t feel so compelled to malign/compare one against the other? 🙂 It is a stunningly beautiful morning here. Cool right now. Just the way I like it in the early morning.
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