WELCOME to this special edition of Carol Orsborn.com: Older, Wiser, Fiercer.
Those of you who are regular readers of my blog may have noticed that in the aftermath of the election of 2016, I have been uncharacteristically at a loss for words.
That’s changed. As editor of our sister site Fierce With Age: The Digest of Boomer Wisdom, Inspiration and Spirituality, I have spent the last eight months seeking and sharing the timeless wisdom of thought leaders who have endured times equally disruptive. These include people like Trappist monk Thomas Merton, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and my newly-discovered soul sister Jung protégé Florida Scott-Maxwell. Along the way, the disempowering aspect to my disillusionment lifted.
I am now re-launching my blog under the new name Older,Wiser, Fiercer. Through it, I have found my voice again, and have discovered that, in fact, I’ve got a lot to say. Below are seven key themes I will be blogging about starting next week on a weekly basis.
I thank my many loyal subscribers for your support along the way to becoming older, wiser and fiercer with age. If you are not already a subscriber, I hope you will opt in to join us for this next phase of our journey together.
–Carol Orsborn, August, 2017
NOTE: You are encouraged to share your thoughts with me and our community in the comment section below about this entry and your own journey to becoming fierce with age, and at the bottom of each blog as it is posted at CarolOrsborn.com.
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WHAT IS THE BLOG ABOUT?
Older, Wiser, Fiercer is both a meditation and chronicle of my journey to becoming fierce with age in our perilous times.
Seven Key Themes:
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WE WHO ARE OLD
The true nature of aging to those of us living it
What is age to those of us living it? Earlier in our lives, we had expected either to continue on as is forever, punctuated by a hard stop at the end, or to fade away gently into the dark night. We did not expect to be facing a new threshold, 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 TENSION OF RELATEDNESS
The paradox between wanting to belong and the desire for solitude
What is the challenge of loving others at the intersection of old age and our perilous times? 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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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? What are our obligations and limitations, navigating a world that has clearly spun out of our control?
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FIERCE WITH AGE
Growing not only old but whole
What are the barriers and complexities of what it takes to become one’s authentic self? We look to our shadow, reclaiming much of what we’d rejected about ourselves and our lives as well as jettisoning previously useful aspects that we’ve outgrown. At our age, this very triumph of the spirit is often dismissed by others as “eccentric” or “cranky.” We fear rejection, but come to realize that in becoming more fully ourselves, we are not just being difficult, we are becoming whole.
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DEFEAT AND VICTORY
What is lost, what is gained through aging
What is the relationship between suffering and spiritual growth? How ironic it is that the things we fear most can become catalysts for what we most value: the deepest appreciation of life, the greatest capacity for joy and the unspeakable grace of a heart broken open.
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THE LEGACY OF BEING
Anticipated regret and unexpected passion
Legacies are both personal and generational. Where have we succeeded, and where have we fallen short? I confess that I so believed in our generation’s commitment to love and justice, I was certain that zeitgeist would do the heavy lifting for us. Not anymore. My misguided faith in the trajectory of history has at last grown teeth. Words are being voiced that should have been spoken years ago.
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THE MEASURE OF OUR LIVES
Why our last days matter most
I believe I have prepared myself for a good death. But secretly, I wonder whether I will maintain my trust 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, kindness given and received, courage summoned and forgiveness levied. This, in fact, is the essence of what it means to be older, wiser, fiercer.
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