Reflections on Growing Older

"I think human beings feel deeply uneasy, unhappy, and frightened when we lose that sense of connectivity, that sense of connection. Some little glimmer of that might be our need to be online, to be connected, and we might feel anxious with good reason if we come offline, we can’t get online, can’t connect. But that is nothing compared with the existential dread and fear of sensing that we are not in the web of reality, or off the radar, off God’s radar of the web of being. So there is deep in the human being a longing to belong, the fear embedded in this web of reality. As John Main said ‘find our insertion point in the universe’, that little space that we plug into, and it’s only if we fit into it. Only my particular shape, my particular mind, my particular identity fits into that space."

- Fr. Richard Rohr - Centre of Action and Contemplation

To Age Like Sea Glass

by Bernadette Noll

I want to age like sea glass.

Smoothed by tides,

but not broken.

I want my hard edges to soften.

I want to ride the waves

and go with the flow.

I want to catch a wave

and let it carry me

to where I belong.

I want to be picked up

and held gently by

those who delight in my

well earned patina and

appreciate the changes I went

through to achieve that beauty.

I want to enjoy the journey

and always remember that if

you give the ocean something

breakable it will turn it into

something beautiful.

I want to age like sea glass.

I Still Matter

by Pat A. Fleming

September 2017

I'M STILL HERE

My looks are nothing special,

My face reveals my age,

My body shows some wear and tear,

And my energy's not the same.

Too often my memory fails me,

And I lose things all the time.

One minute I know what I plan to do,

And the next it may just slip my mind.

I try hard to avoid my mirror.

There are things I would rather not see,

And even those times when I just catch a glimpse,

I can no longer recognize me.

The things I used to do with ease

Can now cause aches and pains,

And the quality of the things I do

Will never be quite the same.

I always compare my older self

To those younger versions of me,

And I know I'm wasting too much time

Missing who I used to be.

But the thing that really makes me sad

Is despite what people see,

Underneath my tattered, worn out shell,

I'm still the same old me.

My heart can still feel endless love,

And at times it still can ache.

My heart can fill with so much joy,

And then it can suddenly break.

My soul can still feel sympathy

And longs for forgiveness and peace,

And there are times its light shines boldly through,

And times when it longs for release.

It's true, maybe now that I'm older,

Feeling lonely may be status quo,

But it also has made me more willing

To forgive and let past conflicts go.

So maybe to some I look ugly and old,

A person who barely exists.

I'm still quite aware of the beauty inside,

And my value should not be dismissed.

So although not as strong and no beauty, it's true,

I'm still here and want so much to live,

And I know that there's no one in this world quite like me,

And no one who has more to give.

I'm A Person Too

by Dawn Mazzola

December 2010

Here I lie in bed again, Awaiting my next meal.

A worker barges in my room, As if it's no big deal.

What ever happened to courtesy? Just a little knock.

Do you think I'm just a vegetable, Laying here like a rock?

What ever happened to manners? I haven't got a clue.

BUT KEEP IN MIND AND DON'T FORGET, THAT I'M A PERSON TOO.

I know I can not talk, Or even joke around.

But I'm well aware of everything, and also every sound.

If you have another worker help, change me during rounds.

Please don't talk about me, as if I'm not around.

Treat me with respect, the same I'd give to you.

KEEP IN MIND AND DON'T FORGET, THAT I'M A PERSON TOO.

My bones are stiff and achy, I hear you say I'm contracted.

My belly hurts, I haven't pooped, I hope I'm not impacted.

I'm sorry I may drool, and at times I even stare.

It's not easy being old, aging isn't fair.

These are the cards God dealt me, There's nothing I can do.

JUST KEEP IN MIND AND DON'T FORGET, THAT I'M A PERSON TOO.

I used to be a lively one, just like your pretty self.

I traveled, married, and worked long hours until I lost my health.

I press my light to see a face, Or just for company.

For someone just to look inside, and realize that I'm ME.

You walked past my light, what am I to do?

PLEASE REMEMBER I'M A PERSON TOO.

I'm sorry that I messed the bed, I feel like such a baby.

I'm so embarrassed, and ashamed, that I'm doing this at eighty.

I'm sorry I couldn't hold it, I didn't know what to do.

KEEP IN MIND AND DON'T FORGET, THAT I'M A PERSON TOO.

I wish that I was able, to communicate some way.

So finally I'd get the chance, to say what I want to say.

I hear you talk with other patients, so please don't walk away.

If everyone showed a little compassion, I wouldn't feel this way.

My name is Helen, and I'm all alone.

Cancer took my husband, he had it in his bones.

We had one child, our precious son.

Until his life was taken by a gun.

So here I am, no family left, as loneliness weighs heavy on my chest.

I may be sad, I may be blue.

PLEASE REMEMBER I'M A PERSON TOO.

Next time my light is on, come and see if I'm OK.

I'm a retired nurse of thirty years, and would love to hear about your day.

Inspirational Quotes About Getting Older

Live With No Regrets - by Betty White

Grow old along with me - Mary Chapin Carpenter