 | Why is it that just when we have accumulated a deeper understanding of living and have experienced the ebb and flow of life that it is considered normal, or expected of us, that we should retire and not share our elder wisdom with those who are still finding their way in the world? We have done the ‘doing’ and now is the opportunity to inspire others with the joy of ‘being’ in whatever you choose to do. |
In 2011, I was 61 and was approached by the Village Society asking if I would be willing to visit the village Primary School to tell the new Year 2 children – 6 and 7 year olds – how the village they were living in had changed over the years. I had been living in the village for thirty-two years and had an interest in local history and how people had used the land for thousands of years. Near our house are four Bronze Age burial mounds and it always makes children’s eyes widen when I tell them this was about 4,000 years ago and that Jesus was living 2,000 years ago and the people who made the mounds were living here 2,000 years before Jesus was born.
I enjoyed the visit and being with the children and that was the beginning of my visiting the school once a week to be with the Year 2 children. I listen to children reading or encourage them to tell me about what is happening in their life and sometimes I help with craft activities, mini beast hunts in the school grounds or – a learning for me – helping with the maths class. Maths for children today is totally different from the days when I struggled and dreaded maths lessons. Now it is fun and imaginative and they support each other to learn. The children enjoy explaining to me how they work out the problem solving and seeing the light-bulb moment when I ‘get it’.
I have now been visiting the school for five years and every child in the school knows who I am and gives me a smile and a silent ‘hello’ when they pass me in the library.
The first Year 2 children that I got to know will be moving to their new secondary schools next term and I am continuing to share the magic of learning to read with each new group of six-year olds.
I have been a student of Universal Medicine for ten years attending Sacred Esoteric Healing courses in several modalities. I then studied on-line courses in Anatomy & Physiology and Diet & Nutrition. The Anatomy & Physiology I found fascinating, it is, after all, the workings of my own physical body and an area of education that was totally absent from my schooling in the 1950s and 60s. I am now accredited by the Esoteric Practitioners Association and offer sessions of the esoteric modalities.
I felt to share these beautiful healing modalities with the wider community so I have joined the volunteer Complementary Therapy team at the local hospice. The vetting and induction process took a while and now I have been asked to join the weekly ‘Feel Good Friday Clinic’ where patients and their carers are living at home but visit the Hospice for support – a chat where they can just be who they are rather than be defined by their illness or disease – and to enjoy a Complementary Therapy session.
I know that at the school and the hospice I have much to offer and share and I have an appreciation of who I am and the depth of wisdom that is held in those of us who don’t fade into retirement but continue to be an active part of the community.
I am now sixty-seven and feel more alive and enjoy being part of the community so much more than I did many years ago. Our age is only a number. It doesn’t define who we are, and it does not stop us from continuing to make a contribution to our community until our last breath!!
Mary A., UK
I enjoyed the visit and being with the children and that was the beginning of my visiting the school once a week to be with the Year 2 children. I listen to children reading or encourage them to tell me about what is happening in their life and sometimes I help with craft activities, mini beast hunts in the school grounds or – a learning for me – helping with the maths class. Maths for children today is totally different from the days when I struggled and dreaded maths lessons. Now it is fun and imaginative and they support each other to learn. The children enjoy explaining to me how they work out the problem solving and seeing the light-bulb moment when I ‘get it’.
I have now been visiting the school for five years and every child in the school knows who I am and gives me a smile and a silent ‘hello’ when they pass me in the library.
The first Year 2 children that I got to know will be moving to their new secondary schools next term and I am continuing to share the magic of learning to read with each new group of six-year olds.
I have been a student of Universal Medicine for ten years attending Sacred Esoteric Healing courses in several modalities. I then studied on-line courses in Anatomy & Physiology and Diet & Nutrition. The Anatomy & Physiology I found fascinating, it is, after all, the workings of my own physical body and an area of education that was totally absent from my schooling in the 1950s and 60s. I am now accredited by the Esoteric Practitioners Association and offer sessions of the esoteric modalities.
I felt to share these beautiful healing modalities with the wider community so I have joined the volunteer Complementary Therapy team at the local hospice. The vetting and induction process took a while and now I have been asked to join the weekly ‘Feel Good Friday Clinic’ where patients and their carers are living at home but visit the Hospice for support – a chat where they can just be who they are rather than be defined by their illness or disease – and to enjoy a Complementary Therapy session.
I know that at the school and the hospice I have much to offer and share and I have an appreciation of who I am and the depth of wisdom that is held in those of us who don’t fade into retirement but continue to be an active part of the community.
I am now sixty-seven and feel more alive and enjoy being part of the community so much more than I did many years ago. Our age is only a number. It doesn’t define who we are, and it does not stop us from continuing to make a contribution to our community until our last breath!!
Mary A., UK