Mary Ann
I was teaching a class on Vision Boards. When the class was busy cutting and pasting, a nice buzz permeated the classroom with people sharing their stories and comparing their wishes for the future. I milled around the room chatting with the students when I settled at a table with two forty some year-old women. They were busy mothers trying to balance home and work so this Vision Boards class was a good exercise for them to clarify their hopes and dreams.
As we chatted, one of them asked me what advice I would give to a younger woman. At first, I froze. No one ever asked me for advice. Someone cared enough to ask my opinion. Time stood still. I quickly went back through 70 years of living trying to find just the right words to say to her. This was my moment to make a statement that someone would use to guide his or her life. This had to be good. The responsibility was so heavy on my shoulders.
Then, words from my mother began to emerge from the fog that surrounded me. My mother told me when I was a younger woman that you need to buy what you want, do what you want, and go where you want because a time will come when you cannot. I think at the time I didn’t take the words very seriously and didn’t see the wisdom in them. As I have gotten older, it absolutely makes sense. None of us know what life is going to bring us or if we are going to have many years to do the things that we want. I think what my mother meant was enjoy life now. There may not be a tomorrow. Yet, how many times do we put things off for that tomorrow?
So, I shared this with the mothers. They chewed on it a bit. Making the Vision Boards was a chance to put the things they wanted to buy, to do, or to go in a concrete format that they could revisit each time they passed their Vision Boards. Their dreams would go out to the universe. They had a path to making their dreams a reality.
Now, I was puffed up like a peacock and emotionally drained at the same time. This was such a lovely compliment for a younger woman to ask an older woman for her advice. We all need to ask those older women, those silver sages, in our lives for some of their wisdom, because a day will come when they will not be there to ask. The wise words my mother gave me have stuck with me. I was glad to pass it on to other women. They need to remember them and remember to work on their core. When the core is gone, it is so hard to get it back, and believe me, you will need it!
Silver Sage Sisters 