I am 58 today.
Not the sort of number you would pick out from a choice of 1-100. A number that would probably not be in the running for a lottery or the job market. It’s all good. Once you hit the stage of invisible woman-hood it doesn’t really matter. Don’t get me wrong I am not whining. Life is good to me. I consider myself an extremely lucky individual. I am relatively healthy, travel as desired, have my art studio and we pay the bills.
I am also supported/fortified/stoked by so many friends. I never feel alone and have someone great to talk to about anything under the sun. I hope others can say that. My friends have been by bridge to stability over the years, lifting me up, propping me up, carrying me across the waters. My thanks to all of them, in their diversity and thinking and sharing.
Getting old seems sort of inconsequential in my book. I have been reading Ram Dass about aging and dying- reading it, for various reasons, mostly for thinking about. It seems that the biggest hinderance of aging and imminent death is health, not numbers. (I have never been a numbers person.)
So I guess my present to myself and to my family and friends is to shore up the foundations and start building in physical strength to prepare myself accordingly. I am not going to be manic about this however as I have many important things to tend to- what to make for dinner, what artwork I am working on, who is at the birdfeeder this week, and so on. But it is a factor of the Years To Come.
Preoccupation with aging and dying seem to be a national past time as I am sure you have noticed. An odd sort of past time. The inevitability of both happening seems to be rather a given, don’t you think? And it is as it should be. I have read enough science fiction books about people who discover the enzyme to live forever to understand it has its drawbacks. And then there is the end of the world to consider. I ran into a woman last week while visiting a wonderful friend that believed the WAWKI [World as we know it] would be ending in 17 years with massive climate changes. Seeing as how we will not be able to change our petrochemical dependency in 17 years it provides an event for reflection of how those years will go. I decided that I will continue to attempt living greener, consuming less, travel as much as I can (no, I don’t see see travel as an oxymoron), improve as an artist and try to be a better human to my world and it’s inhabitants. I will attempt to learn new things and try new ideas. That should keep me busy for another 17 years and then we can reassess the situation.
So happy birthday to me, thank you, Friend, for having a little piece of me. It makes a difference and makes my life rich. Thank you for your notes and cards and love. I am planning to enjoy the Earth today, get outside, go to the studio, design my dinner and share an evening with my husband- sounds pretty satisfying!
