Monday, October 19, 2015

AGING GRACEFULLY THRU LIFES SEASONS

We sometimes believe that beauty tends to fade with age, but the truth is that a life time of beauty is as much about what we create and do as it is about our appearance. Just as the maple tree is beautiful in all of its stages from its awakening in the spring, it’s full glorious green leaves of summer, its multicolored beauty in fall to its bare skeleton during the winter, human beings are beautiful throughout the seasons of their lives. 

We begin our lives learning and experiencing as much as we possibly can. Like the trees in spring absorb the air and water, we are waking up to the world, absorbing the ideas of other people and taking in the world like sponges. We explore our physical strength, we discover our beauty and vitality attracts attention. We begin to use the information we’ve gathered to form ideas and opinions of our own, forming a philosophy about life. Our beauty is as much about what we are saying, doing, and creating as it is about our outward appearance. Like a tree in summer we are full, expressive, beautiful and productive.

In the middle of our lives we begin to let go of our creations, like a tree in autumn dropping leaves we release our past attachments and prepare for a new phase of growth. Our families change the children move on, careers shift or end. Our outward appearance changes. We begin to see lines on our faces and grey hairs, perhaps lamenting the passing of time. Beauty at this age is like the bare branches of the maple, it comes from the very core and essence of our being.  We may become more radiant than ever as our inner light shines brighter through our eyes. The wrinkles and grey hair become a beautiful testament to the fullness of our life's experiences.

We may loose our physical strength and our youthful appearance, but at this time of our lives we are reminded that there is nothing to fear in growing older. There is a special beauty that can only come after one has spent a lifetime on this earth. 

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Ony Antonucci (518) 832-8249
Kripalu 500-hr Advanced Level Yoga Instructor  
For more information about Onyyoga and class schedules: www.onyyoga.com or Facebook onyyoga

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