In celebration of Seniors Day
In celebration of the upcoming Seniors Day I would love to share some perspectives from my field of classical Chinese medicine, in acknowledgment that all stages of the cycle of life are equally sacred.
With fall finally upon us, it is a wonderful time of year to reflect upon the beauty of the seasons. Autumn, of course, is especially showy. Bright colours and the bounty of the harvest are obvious and every bit as beautiful as the wildflowers of spring.
As a culture, we are very much enamoured with the spring phase of life. Birth! Babies! Youth! Lushness, suppleness and bright shiny objects. Even if we say we believe that there is beauty in all seasons of nature and aging, we still don’t always look at wrinkles and withering as quite as beautiful. Maybe more as “inevitable”. Maybe with gratitude for health and life “despite” the “downsides” of aging.
But what if we truly lived as though aging was as beautiful and amazing as youth and the later stages of life were as inspiring as the beginning?
So, enjoy this glorious fall, and the winter that follows. Ponder their beauties and those within yourself at whichever phase of the year, season and life that you are in.
For those beautiful contrasting veins of colour in the leaves. For the small streams that trickle musically. For the dried flowers that still ornament their stems. For the carpet of yellow aspen leaves that cushion your feet as you search for cranberries to punctuate your winter with bursts of flavour and colour. For all of these precious, beautiful gems from nature, which are all around us and also in you.
Anni Elliston R.TCMP
Aspen Grove Acupuncture & Healing Arts