Monday, January 7th
A great deal depends on the manner in which a thing begins – refer to first entry on September 15th – for one thing, it is a reference point that can always be referred to in order to find our way back no matter how far we may wander from that source, for another it sets an intention that energetically supports movement – the further we get from the source/beginning the less energy is available for movement; entropy sets in over time. Thus the necessity to regularly begin again.
Each day is a possible new start, or not if we choose not to use it that way, but I believe that this is one of the more brilliant ideas of the creation for with the new dawn we’re rested and full of renewed energy and if we follow this natural design we can truly start again; realigning intention and tone, remembering what it is that we most truly desire to fulfill in our lives. It is a daily prayer, if you will, or an affirmation, if that is your language; it is hope that does spring eternal, but not if we’re not paying attention and attention is the key word. There is so much that we cannot control in life, so much outside awareness, but our own awareness is always available; a resource gifted to us by life.
Which raises another of the creation’s brilliant ideas; an expanding consciousness in an aging body. This combination solves what would otherwise be a serious problem. In a young body we have all the energy we need to keep moving for years with little necessity to return to the beginning for the renewal of energy—it’s built into youth. So we blithely move believing it is forever no matter what evidence we see in older beings. Depending on the individual the first shock occurs around 30, but most certainly by 40 when we start to feel tired in some fashion, limited by a body that no longer energizes unconsciously. It might occur when an hour of tennis sends us home for a nap when before we could play all day, but however the first shock occurs it is devastating to our naïve view and kick starts consciousness into a fuller participation; we must participate in our own growth which is no longer running on unconscious drives.
Someone – sorry I seldom quote correctly – once said that before 40 our looks are a gift of genetics, after 40 we’re responsible for how we look.
Let’s call this the before and after 40 syndrome; before, unconscious processes refuel body, mind, and soul, after, consciousness is required for continued growth. An aging body serves to remind us that we are the creators of our lives and so must decide what and how we will live, learning to be the creators is the gift that age gives us as a natural process. Another piece of this design is that as we age and are becoming more conscious and more responsible we’re motivated by the now very real fact that we don’t have all the time in the world; that each day is precious and this is a powerful source of renewed energy!!
