Older, Wiser, Fiercer: The Wisdom Collection
Digest Edition
Summary and Index
The distillation of Carol Orsborn’s 20 years in the field of Conscious Aging. Follow links to essays of special interest or read the collection, digest edition, in its intended sequence of 40 brief readings online by clicking HERE.
Watch for the complete Older, Wiser, Fiercer: The Wisdom Collection, including additional essays and bonus material, available soon in Kindle eBook and paperback editions.
1 WE WHO ARE OLD
The true nature of aging to those of us living it
Aging is a time full of irony.
We find ourselves brimming with unexpected passion,
but frequently lack the energy to see things through.
We experience ourselves to be at the peak of our knowledge and abilities,
only to realize that we are masters of a world that no longer exists.
At times we are full of purpose; other times we wonder what it has all been for.
We did not anticipate facing a new threshold this late in life,
feeling more alive than ever.
The irony nearly breaks us, as we leapfrog through the mystery of age
one paradox at a time.
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The Wisdom Collection Entries 1-8
1: What is Age 2: A Private Pleasure 3: Beyond Power 4: Growing Wild 5: Catching the Breeze 6: The Second Mile 7: On Enduring 8: Three Octogenarians
II LEGACY OF BEING
Anticipated regret and unexpected passion
How does one reconcile one’s experience and one’s aspirations?
After all these years, striving to leave a legacy of love…
and still I persist.
Perhaps the answer is hidden in plain sight.
For it is only in the gap that the urge to do better arises.
In the breech, too, there is faith and mercy.
In the end, we find that the only path to realization
was never a leap, but stepping stones:
hobbling our way towards a legacy one apology,
one moment of forgiveness, one expression of compassion at a time.
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–The Wisdom Collection Entries 9-13
9: In the Gap 10: The Happy Ghost 11: The Facts of Life 12: Garbed in Holiness 13: Confession
III OUR TIMES
The state of the world in our culminating moment
It is not easy to be old in these times, wishing one had done or could do more.
We aim to be the bigger person, but why do so many people
have to be asleep, stupid, selfish and just plain bad?
The call is to make a sincere attempt to find
common ground with those who we find disagreeable.
But this has nothing to do with becoming the bigger person.
Rather, what is called for is humility.
To discern the difference between being powerful and being called.
And if one is not yet sure, we must at least not cover up the tension we cannot deny.
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–The Wisdom Collection Entries 14, 15
14: Jaws Agape 15: Whitewash
IV THE PARADOX OF RELATEDNESS
The tension between wanting to belong and the desire for solitude
We who have endured the most decades
have had the opportunity to witness patterns of loving and wounding,
ambition and disappointment, advance and setback
cycling through time on well-worn tracks.
Never have we had more to share, and never have we felt more marginalized.
We struggle with our wanting to belong—and the desire for solitude.
Paradoxically, it is on the margins that we develop new capacities
to not only experience our greatest love,
but to discover that we are beloved.
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–The Wisdom Collection Entries 16-21
16: The Risk 17: Getting Along 18: Gestation 19: A Glorious End 20: Called to Struggle 21: A New Season
V DEFEAT AND VICTORY
What is lost, what is gained through aging
When we finally surrender to age as a time of descent rather than of shoring up,
our first thought is that there will now be no end to the darkness.
But at last there does come an end to it.
And what a surprise when at the very bottom we are met not with a crash,
but silence. And from the silence, a wee voice, whispers:
“But ah, what a great adventure this life we’re having!”
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—The Wisdom Collection Entries 22-26
22: Candidates 23: A Tender Shoot 24: The Source 25: For St. Joseph 26: Great Adventure
VI FIERCE WITH AGE
Growing not only old but whole
It takes courage to dive deeply into the barriers and complexities
of what it takes to become one’s authentic self.
Some may call us eccentric, stubborn, out of control:
But we are not just being difficult.
We are becoming whole.
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–The Wisdom Collection Entries 27-33
27: Grand Gesture 28: Beyond Resignation 29: Becoming Yourself 30: This Patch 31: Claiming Joy 32: Silence 33: Wonderfully Made
VII THAT I MAY SMILE AGAIN
At last, an arrival
I believe I have prepared myself for a good death.
But secretly, I wonder who will go the distance with me
should I linger too long, or suffer too greatly?
Will I maintain my trust in my conviction that I am beloved by God,
or will I spoil the end hoping for reward and fearing punishment?
For the time being, I believe that it must all be for something—lessons learned,
pain endured, courage summoned and forgiveness levied.
But this only makes me want more.
No slow fade for me.
But rather, a spectacular dive at the last possible second,
Head-first, eyes and heart wide open.
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–The Wisdom Collection Entries 34-40
34: Doggy Steps 35: Field of Love 36: Stray 37: Next Breath 38: Arrival 39: Head-First 40: One White Crane
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To Read the Introduction to this work by Harry R. Moody, Ph.D. click HERE
To Read the Afterword by Robert L. Weber,Ph.D. click HERE
To View the Painting by Susan Rios featured as the cover, click HERE
Copyright © 2019 by Carol Orsborn. Permission granted by the author to share this excerpt for non-commercial purposes with proper credit given to Carol Orsborn, Older:Wiser, Fiercer: The Wisdom Collection at CarolOrsborn
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Seven Meditations: Copyright © 2019 by Carol Orsborn. Permission granted by the author to share this excerpt for non-commercial purposes with proper credit given to Carol Orsborn, Older:Wiser, Fiercer: The Wisdom Collection at CarolOrsborn.com. For longer or multiple excerpts, contact the author at Carol@FierceWithAge.com for written permission.
