"Autobiographies of great nations are written in three manuscripts – a book of deeds, a book of words, and a book of art. Of the three, I would choose the latter as truest testimony." - Sir Kenneth Smith, Great Civilisations

"I must write each day without fail, not so much for the success of the work, as in order not to get out of my routine." - Leo Tolstoy

I have never believed that one should wait until one is inspired because I think the pleasures of not writing are so great that if you ever start indulging them you will never write again. - John Updike

"The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it." - J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Poetry is the shadow cast by our streetlight imaginations." - Lawrence Ferlinghetti


[Note - If any article requires updating or correction please notate this in the comment section. Thank you. - res]


Thursday, September 10, 2020

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

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

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






No comments:

Post a Comment