A Lot of Living Left to Do

I’m away from home considering how best to show up for the rest of my life.

And I bet you’re on a similar sojourn.  

And maybe like me, you miss things in front of you as your mind wanders to the past and imagines the future.

I’m doing that now. Thinking about last year’s taxes and whether to read a new book or one I’m halfway through. Maybe I’ll take a swim in the turquoise water. 

These disjointed ideas are coming to me on the Caribbean Island of Bonaire, part of the kingdom of the Netherlands that nearly touches the eastern coast of Venezuela. 

Whatever idea or word you use for the undefinable—whether it’s God or spirit or simply the feeling of connection that can brush your cheek like a reassuring touch, I sense it in spades here.

“In my dreams, I’ll regain the energy of my 40s, the adventure of my 20s”

Just under the water’s surface where green turtles coexist with still-as-stone, venomous, scorpion fish. Where queen angel fish, fast and graceful as birds in flight, zip by in Marti Gras yellow and purple.

I came to scuba dive and to see those creatures. But also to expand in ways that say I, too, belong here as an observer and recipient of this wonder. 

It’s in awareness of my surroundings that I sense what needs are being satisfied—for choice, beauty, freedom, fun . . . even stillness. And by having clear recognition of how good these met needs feel, I can carry them home and into the ordinary. 

This trip was designed so that I’d arrive ahead of my husband. He’d then join me for a week, depart, and I’d resume alone time.

I’m here to see if I can do “solo” and feel comfortable without being coupled or in a group. But mostly I’m here to envision what’s next.

And so far, it’s encouraging. 

“I can’t imagine looking older than I already do. But if I’m lucky I’ll get to see this face fall around the creases and lines foreshadowed in the mirror.” 

Living the 9 Elements of a Buoyant Life grounds me, even as distracting fantasies intrude. Maybe I’ll regain the energy of my 40s, the adventure of my 20s, and the zip in my step that was there even in my ‘50s. 

And while acknowledging that these road trips to the past are unlikely to materialize, I return to my life as it is and ask what I need to know about my ‘60s. Maybe even the ‘70s ‘80s and ‘90s.

I can’t imagine looking older than I already do. 

Yet if I’m lucky I’ll get to see this face deepen the creases foreshadowed in the morning mirror. 

Creaks may turn into outright pain, and hidden maladies may surface. 

So I keep returning to the big question—How is it done, this thing called aging?

How do we wiggle our way into full, vibrant lives for the rest of the time we have on this planet? 

Imagine this: Being uplifted by sparks of magic that appear when we support one another to age in bigger, bolder, more confident and joyful ways. 

That’s what this blog and Age Buoyantly® is all about. 

Because one thing is certain, for as long as we’re able, we get to choose to have a lot of living left to do. 

SONG:
Abbe Lane (with Xavier Cugat Orchestra) by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams: A Lot Of Livin' To Do Click here to listen