There is loss in growing older. But if you can manage not to cling your hands will remain open, ready to receive new gifts of contentment, wisdom, and depth of soul.
~ William Martin
(The Sage’s Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for the Second Half of Life)
Oh, Barbara, I love this quote! I smell a favorite scent of carnations over my sweet coffee. This brought fond memories of my mother who would always place a mint chocolate on my pillow and 2-3 carnations on the bedside table when I went to visit overnight.
I have saved your blog post in my phone notes to remind myself of this when I’m feeling too alone or closed. I will add a small bouquet of carnations to my shopping list for this weekend.
Do you have flower favorites scents that reminds you of your beloveds?
I’m so glad this combination brought up so many thoughts and memories for you, Teri! My mother loved lily-of-the-valley and Japanese andromeda so those always make me think of her. Early in our marriage I noticed that carnations lasted longer in bouquets than roses did and I liked them just as much, if not more. So Tim started buying me carnations and I loved that. But I think tulips are my favorite flowers, even though they don’t last very long! I used to have lots of them planted in my garden.
Tulips are very pretty. Tea Roses are my all time favorite. I had them in all my homes gardens I owned, even my apartments patios I rented. But I don’t have any flowers or shrubs on this property. I have out-aged my interest in the work of gardening. I hire service people to take care of the grounds. I prefer watching the birds! 😊
For some reason I never tried growing roses in my garden. I think I heard stories about how difficult they were to keep pest-free or something. I’m with you about not wanting to tend to a garden any more. I love the moss we have instead of grass here, and content myself with sweeping the leaves and pine needles off the porch and deck for “yard” maintenance. 🙂
How I love this quote! It’s such timely advice for everyone, not just those in the second half of life. A closed fist and heart prevent us from seeing and welcoming the gifts yet to come our way. And I, too, love carnations. Their sweet smell always reminds me of college.
It’s so true, letting go of people, habits, beliefs and possessions we grasp and cling to, opens the way for expanding our horizons and welcoming new ideas and ways of being on this endlessly amazing journey we call life. I’m so curious, why do carnations remind you of college?
LOL! My sorority had a propensity for ordering carnations for everything! As one of the officers who did the ordering, I got to enjoy a lot of them — for birthdays, formals, and so forth. And how I love their scent!
No wonder, then! It’s amazing how flowers and their scents can take us back and trigger memories that might have been forgotten over time.
💖
Those are very wise words Barbara – so true because there are some things you can’t stop and getting older is one of them. We just have to adjust, it seems, on an ongoing basis. I like that beautiful vase of carnations – they are so cheery looking, after days of gloomy gray. We did have the sun pop out briefly today and it was welcome, even if cold and windy.
Every once in a while I pull out that book, The Sage’s Tao Te Ching by William Martin, because it is so full of simple bits of eastern wisdom that help me adjust to the never ending changes that life brings my way. I do love carnations, especially because they last so long in a bouquet, but even they, too, fade away. There must be a good metaphor in there somewhere. 🙂
I’ve always found Eastern wisdom simple and easy to grasp concepts. That’s good they are helping you navigate your new normal and beyond.
Me, too. It helps keep everything in perspective and to not resist the way life is as it unfolds. I especially work on accepting impermanence and cultivating equanimity.
I’ve learned the older I get that I am less and less adaptable to new things and resistant to change. Perhaps it is because I live alone, thus I am not forced into changing anything in my life; I no longer work so I’m not having to be tolerant of my boss, or even abide by anyone’s schedule, but I recognize that fault of mine. P.S. – We’ve had about 4 inches of snow, it is 16 degrees with a real feel of -12. I’m glad I got to the Park yesterday as the brutal cold will be here for awhile and it is very icy out there as well.