I'm Not Dead Yet!

The title came to me when talking to Lisa about a dream of me working with Elders. I'm not shy to say that I am 63 years old this year. The past decade has been one of adapting to aging in a society which worships youth. We've come a far cry from our Ancestors who respected and honoured their Elders for their wisdom and experience. Today we hide our Elders away in old folks homes as if it is a crime or shameful to grow old. They are often seen as a burden to society. Then we spend a fortune on wrinkle cream, hair dyes, hair transplants, botox injections, plastic surgery, etc.... to ward off the inevitable with every ounce of our being. It gets a little tiring after awhile to fight against nature. 

What is the value of Seniors in today's world? It's true that Elders today can't guide the youth when it comes to technology. Maybe  age is more of a curse than a blessing in our modern world. But there is more to life than computers, iPhones and video games. 

My parents lived through WWII, the great Depression and the invention of phones, cars, TV and computers. They watched the first man step on the Moon. 

I remember when the air and water were clear and clean and when we weren't concerned about global warming or extinction of hundreds of species of animals, not to mention the human species and the planet herself. I remember when we got our first TV, it was in black and white. Phones were black too and you had to turn the dial on them. None of this digital business back then. I didn't have a computer until the year 2000, never saw a need for one until Lisa invited me to her on-line community. 

I may not be technically adept, but I have lots of life experience. I have grown and healed a lot. I have come a long ways from the small town prairie girl who lived far north isolated from the outside world. 

And I still have a lot more living and learning to do. 

I am reading a book by Ruth Montgomery called "A World Beyond".  In it she is receiving messages from beyond the grave, from the famous medium Arthur Ford, who died in 1971. He talks about the transition we go through after we die. He also speaks about how we are here to learn and advance in consciousness.  It is making me think about some things. 

Have I done everything I came here to do? If I am still here, there must be more to accomplish, learn and heal.  Am I ready to die at any given moment? What do I expect to experience after I leave this earthly body? Am I ready to face the unknown.... To stand before my Creator with "open hands and straight eyes... without shame" as the Native prayer says. 

Fortunately, I have been given a few glimpses of the afterlife and can honestly say that I am looking forward to it. It is living that I find hard. As I age and the world around me continues to race towards mass destruction, I wonder what is the use of being here and not being able to make a difference. 

But then I know that if I am walking my path the best I can, doing what I am called to do, I am making a difference in my small part of the world, to my own evolution and perhaps touching something in those around me. 

Creator is not letting me leave yet, and as long as I live and breath, I have work to do. 

I have created a page on Facebook titled "I'm not Dead Yet", in honour of those who are 45+, to have a place to share and discuss issues, triumphs and challenges of aging, death and dying, as well as the afterlife. All perspectives are welcome, and we will be sharing our viewpoints of  these topics from a Natural and Cosmological viewpoint. 

If you are forty-five or older and are interested in joining, just go to Facebook and request an invitation to the page. Let's talk about life and death and all that we are living as we grow older. 

 This tree is 300 years old. 

Imagine if we could hear what it had to say.