Writing this week from a new perspective… interesting how a number feels like a life change. I completed another sweep around the sun this past week and I have to admit, as much as I have been upbeat and positive with this one, relishing in the number and reveling in the “being here” to cross this line, it is a bit weird in other ways.
Aging is a relative term. One that is unavoidable unless you have a secret time machine. 😊 At thirty, I was a bit squirrely; got my ears pierced and my hair permed for the first time (can you see Farrah or Reba?) I had the hair, needed the curls. Hehehe.
Forty arrived with wishful dreams of tropical trips met by a tropical plant presented to one with a brown thumb. That poor bird of paradise, but bless my hubby for the thought behind it. Love shows up in the most unexpected ways.
Fifty was a tough one for me, not for any rhyme or reason I could pinpoint. I don’t even understand it looking back but, mention that one upcoming, and tears could be spotted forming in the corners of my eyes. Then the memory looking back… my friends and family threw me a surprise party that even had me shocked. A blessing that removed that perceived “ouch” of turning fifty now left with smiling memories instead of tear-filled attempts to delay the inevitable.
Fifty-five was celebrated by ordering off the senior menu…something my wonderful Uncle Dick refused to do. He looked sixty at eighty and wasn’t about to give up that youthful dynamic for a couple of dollars.
Sixty came and went like a soft breeze blowing through the week, the month, the year. Busy times back then and the gift of my first grandson’s birth just days after my own milestone birthday. Reckon he will always remember how old I am, just add 60 to his number and voila’!
I didn’t give a whole lot of attention to seventy though I must sheepishly admit that I sort of expected a party. I had surprised hubby with one on his 65th and his 70th.The day came and went without fanfare, love delivered by flowers and family. Then the following weekend my daughter surprised me with a mom and me trip to the coast; a stay at the hot springs, shopping, and beach walking. Certainly, one I won’t for sure, forget. Huge blessings hidden in the cherished moments of my everyday journey through this lifetime.
So here I am on the precipice of time once again… starring down a number that is a big one and yet… here I am; alive, healthy, busy, happy (most of the time like all of us), and writing. I just did my first live retreat in years with more scheduled on the calendar.
At this three-quarter century mark, I am looking back, remembering even just the last five years, I am blown away by the blessings in my life. I see a fiftieth anniversary celebrated with my life-love (we met in 1968), a grandson turned teenager (yikes, lookout world), the publication of my first books (now three), a move to a new home after leaving the one my kids grew up in, well, I grew up in as well… forty years of living and loving under the same roof was a difficult challenge but accomplished all the same.
I sit here looking at a bouquet of red roses that brighten my office and remember making drums with each of my grandsons on their 8th birthdays. Love often comes slowly but when held tightly, lasts a lifetime. My grandson’s are everyday reminders of the love they are anchored in by their parents now together themselves over twenty-five years. When love comes softly and is nurtured slowly, it grows steadily, and with faith and hard work, endures endlessly. I tell them, they come from a long line of love.
What I can say for sure, is that this journey is far from over… I am looking forward to being the next one in a long line of relatives that crossed the 80-90-100 milestones and hoping to meet my great-grandchildren on this earth plane. Not that I want the boys to hurry into that one, but… just sayin’, this Granny will be ready with open arms and a warm heart. Would make a great ninetieth, eh?
This journey touches my heart remembering
To see again in the light of the stars
To feel again the pull of the moon
To know again from deep with-in
That I am never lost.
I am just beginning
To remember….
Who I am, who I am becoming and who I will be in the end?
Here’s to the next 5-15-25 years or more living joyously through this life, embracing change and age, enjoying time and space, galloping on to the end of the race, full speed ahead!
May you all know the joy of love, laughter, and the sweet surrender of each day as it grows and blossoms into the next,
** Registration is NOW OPEN for Journey Through the Shaman’s Doorway in-person gathering over the Fall Equinox weekend with myself and Beth Beurkens… sign up now as space is limited at the Diamond Springs Center in central CA (near Placerville) https://bit.ly/JourneyThroughTheShamansDoorway
Please enjoy my Free PDF –
6 Ways Your Life Can Change When You Adopt an Optimistic Attitude
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Vicki Dobbs is a bold and adventurous warrior walking a path of heart to manifest spirituality in everyday lives. She opens existential gateways for individuals to face their challenges and embrace these tests as the great teachers that they are.
Her goal is to see everyone walk in beauty and balance every day of their lives empowered by the voice of their own authentic truth.
Through Wisdom Evolution and Sacred Wisdom Workshops, Vicki creates opportunities for others to make deep personal changes through experiential classes, ceremony, sacred art and story. She endeavors to inspire others to create their lives intentionally. Vicki is an Inspirator of everyday awareness, an Instigator of spontaneous stories and a Connoisseur of Creativity. Gratitude and grace sprinkled with humility and humor are the medicine she brings to the world.
As an Elder, Teacher and Entrepreneur, Spiritual Coach, Ordained Minister and Crafter of Sacred Art and Tools, Vicki perceives life’s journey as an ever-upward spiraling ascension of the human spirit leading her to wisdom, wholeness and authenticity.
Her experience includes being trained in the Harner Method of Shamanic Counseling and the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition of Cross Cultural Shamanism. She is a Graduate Teacher and Mentor with the Lynn Andrews Center For Sacred Arts and Training and has been the Administrator and Writers Guide for Writing Spirit, the School.
Vicki is also an Artist of the Spirit Certified Spiritual and Energetic Life Coach, a Graduate Mentor in the AoS program and a founding member of HeatherAsh Amara’s Warrior Goddess Leadership Team and Facilitator of the Warrior Heart Practice.
Connect with Vicki here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vickildobbsauthor
