You never know who is going to be the soul of a particular gathering for you –the words of wisdom that you will bring home with you to turn over and over again in your heart. The most recent was Bob Atchley, a gentle but powerful soul who helped build the bridge between the traditional world of gerontology and the conscious aging movement. He was one of Sage-ing International’s Honored Sages, and we had just had our first personal encounter at this year’s convention, sadly turning out to have taken place mere days before his sudden passing.
In previous years and circumstances, I’d seen Bob Atchley center stage inspiring hundreds of adoring fans. But here he was at the Sage-ing Convention in Chaska, just as happy when there were just a handful of us in an intimate salon, enjoying the quiet moment of a few well-loved songs and the aura of affirmation that he carried in his welcoming smile.
At one point, challenged by one of the presenters to take personal inventory of the purpose of our lives and worrying that I was coming up short, I found myself drawn to Bob, who was sitting all alone in the salon tuning his guitar, and asked him what he was feeling called to do. Did he plan another book? A concert tour? He responded “It’s purpose enough for me to get up in the morning, pick up the guitar, and play.”
Becoming one’s self is not as easy as it seems–although Bob made it look effortless. But how does one become the quiet presence: the distillation of the essence of life radiating love? Here we bridge from the passing of one spiritual master to another. Rabbi Rami Shapiro recently shared the story of Thomas Keating, the beloved father of Centering Prayer, who also recently passed away –just last month. Finding himself one-on-one with Thomas, Rami asked him about dying. Paraphrasing Rami’s re-telling: “It’s like this. For years, my spiritual practice has been to let go of my ego and be merged with Presence. Every time I find myself being Father Thomas Keating, I catch myself and let it go. Then every time I come back, I catch myself again and let it go again. Now I understand that there will come a time when I let it go and it won’t come back.”
How did Bob Atchley and Father Keating become spiritual masters? The answer is that each had a mature spiritual practice. They weren’t born enlightened—they practiced at it all their lives, as can we all. Every time one disappears into the flow of life; every time one intuits that it no longer matters whether we are radiating our essence center stage or in an intimate salon; every time one savors the present moment in a pause, so redolent, so embracing of all of life, including the stubbed toes and imperfection, the veil between ourselves and Presence dissipates, as delicate and precious as gossamer.
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Carol Orsborn, Ph.D., is Founder of Fierce with Age, the free monthly Digest of Boomer Wisdom, Inspiration and Spirituality. Carol, who earned her doctorate in the history and critical theory of religion specializing in adult and spiritual development from Vanderbilt University, is the best-selling author of 30 books, including The Spirituality of Age: A Seeker’s Guide to Growing Older (co-author Dr. Robert L. Weber), winner of gold in the category of Consciously Aging, Nautilus Book Awards 2015. Carol’s blog Older, Wiser, Fiercer is available at CarolOrsborn.com.
