Creative
Freedom
“The
category of 'stuff' ceased to mean anything at all to me. And that is
so liberating. Ending the era of being your own version of a
'stuffologist' is pure bliss.”
Caroline
Myss (Caroline's Blog; “The Power of Aging”)
Caroline Myss writes
about watching an uncle, when he turned 60, decide that he was now
“an old man.” With great fear and trepidation about getting
old, he participated in his own demise by age 65. It made an
impression on her, so that when she herself turned 60, she decided
that her birthday gifts to herself would no longer be things, as they
had been in the past, but the gift of creative freedom. From then on,
she carefully chose what she wanted to create, where she wanted to
create it, what she wanted to teach and where. This decision on her
part was a million miles from what her uncle had chosen, and it
opened up a whole new world of possibilities for her. It was life
anew, not life over.
I'm not sure at what age
the “no more stuff” syndrome hit me, but it has been some time
ago. Now, I am happy to acquire things I need, but nothing more. If I
am given “stuff” at this point, I am (hopefully) gracious in
receiving it, but it goes straight into the give-away box I keep
under a sewing machine table in my studio. When the box is full, I
take it to the nearby thrift store.
There is tremendous
freedom in not collecting stuff. So often we become the captive of
our treasure to such a degree that our lives must be planned around
its protection. As I'm writing here on my porch, a neighbor's house
alarm is going off. A shrill siren whirrs across the neighborhood
while they try to remember the code and contact the system
controllers to turn it off. Oh, dear.
I love the idea of giving
oneself the gift of creative freedom for the latter stages of life.
I'm not naïve enough to imagine that everyone can do that—most of
us still have to work to support ourselves in our old age. But around
the edges of that work, there is time for soul expression. When one
sets the intention to have creative freedom, it's intriguing what
presents itself. Ideas that have been dancing around the periphery of
your imagination forever suddenly take center stage, beckoning you to
come play. Just as the work of childhood is play, the work of old age
is, too. Creative freedom feels like play no matter what you decide
to do with it. When your imagination takes flight, your spirit is
truly free. Such a thrill!
In the Spirit,
Jane
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