I’ve been gathering a collection essays, poems, quotes from books, and other writing that I come upon. I find these inspirational, they strike a chord and feel relevant to my aging self.
I’ve decided to share them here and invite you to add to this collection.
Jane
I’ll start with this reflection by Úrsula LeGuin.
Childhood polio left Itzak Perlman able to walk only with braces on both legs and crutches. When Perlman plays at a concert, the journey from the wings to the center of the stage is long and slow. Yet, when he plays, his talent transcends any thought of physical challenge.
Perlman was scheduled to play a difficult, challenging violin concerto. In the middle of the performance one of the strings on his violin snapped with a rifle-like popping noise that filled the entire auditorium. The orchestra immediately stopped playing and the audience held its collective breath. The assumption was he would have to put on his braces, pick up his crutches, and leave the stage. Either that or someone would have to come out with another string or replace the violin. After a brief pause, Perlman set his violin under his chin and signaled to the conductor to begin.
One person in the audience reported what happened: “I know it is impossible to play a violin concerto with only three strings. I know that and so do you, but that night, Isaac Perlman refused to know it. You could see him modulating, changing, and recomposing in his head. At one point it sounded as if he were re-tuning the strings to get a new sound that had never been heard before.
When he finished, there was an awesome silence that filled the room. Then people rose and cheered. Perlman smiled, wiped his brow, and raised the bow of his violin to quiet them. He spoke, not boastfully, but quietly in a pensive tone, ‘You know, sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.’”
(This anecdote appears in the 1999 book “When Life Hurts: A Personal Journey from Adversity to Renewal,” by Rabbi Wayne Dosick)
Bonnie,
Treasure your group and the synergy between the ages. There’s great benefit in having younger friends, and so much we can share and learn from each other!
Yes, you are valued in that group.
Jane
I am not old… she said
I am rare.
I am the standing ovation
At the end of the play.
I am the retrospective
Of my life as art
I am the hours
Connected like dots
Into good sense
I am the fullness
Of existing.
You think I am waiting to die…
But I am waiting to be found
I am a treasure.
I am a map.
And these wrinkles are
Imprints of my journey
Ask me
anything.
Author: Samantha Reynolds
Love this by Samantha Reynonlds. I’m 72 and retired and most of my friends and aquaintances are younger and still working. A club I belong to has 30 members but only 2 are anywhere near my age, the others are mostly in their 50’s or younger.
Sometimes I just don’t feel like I fit in. But very occasionally, one of these younger people will ask my opinion on something and I feel like I can really impart some knowledge that I’ve accumulated through my life. Whether they take my advice or not, when the conversation is over I feel genuinely happy.
I love this quote, spoken by Dev Patel in the movie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. It offers a new perspective when events seem out of control, and makes me smile.
“Things always work out in the end.
If they’re not working out…this must not be the end.”
Jane
As we lose friends and family members, and ponder the end of life, this quote by Barbara Ehrenreich, from her book, Natural Causes, offers a thought provoking perspective.
“You can think of death bitterly or with resignation, as a tragic interruption of your life, and take every possible measure to postpone it. Or, more realistically, you can think of life as an interruption of an eternity of personal nonexistence, and seize it as a brief opportunity to observe and interact with the living, ever surprising world around us.”