Celebrations!

celebrate – to note, to mark, to observe a notable occasion with festivities

Recently I went to one of those kind of celebrations although I didn’t stay around for the festivities. It was forty years since the founding of New Buffalo, one of the early communes in New Mexico and located, as it so happens, just across the valley from where I’ve been living since 1975.

Although not a commune any more (it’s gone through many transformations) many of the buildings are as they were when I first knew them. The person who is the present owner plans to make it into a retreat center some day.

Many of us who gathered have known each other for many years and have gone through our own transformations. Some of the children, now grown with kids of their own, were there, too. My daughter, Mirabai, told me about the plans for the celebration a couple of days ago, but of course I completely forgot about it until she called this morning and said she was on her way.

Although we never lived there, there was always a connection for our family. Mirabai had memories of the alternative high school she helped found, on those grounds and we peeked into various rooms that had been part of the “past.”

It was more than a high school reunion kind of gathering for it really represented a particular era, a special time for all those who were part of it, in one way or another. From embracing the core values of “back to the land” and simplifying their lives to what and where they are thirty or forty years later was interesting. Many are still living lives, although a lot more comfortable on a physical level than they were then, still embracing many of the same values that gave birth to those kinds of experiments in alternative life styles.

Commemorating events

We all celebrate various events, on a personal level, on a national level, on a world level. It must be one of the way we humans mark our history. We forget so much of the day-to-day events, but certain events seem to be etched in our memories.

As parents, we think we will never forget how smart or beautiful our babies were, exactly when they first walked and talked (and, yes, became toilet trained), but we do. When we’re going through college exams or interviewing for jobs or training for professions, those moments that were so intense, somehow get lost the further we are from them. But, there are always specific experiences that we do retain the memory of, even if they’re not “commemorated.”

Conscious of changes

We also seem to be attuned to the seasons, even those of us who are not closely connected to the land, as farmers being able to read the weather and know, from intuition and experience when to plant. Even if we’re not as aware of the solstices or equinoxes as our ancestors were, we’re conscious of the changes of the seasons.

That’s why ceremony is so important in so many cultures and in so many religions. It’s a way of imprinting and, for many, a way of retaining a connection. Holidays are often a time of families coming together. It can also be a time of intense loneliness and sadness for many. Although we may be among the blessed who share the love of family and friends, it’s also a time to remember those who are alone and bereft.

A time of awareness

For those of us who have passed the fifty-year mark, there are seldom ceremonies to help us cross that particular portal, although sometimes we have a nice party or do something special for ourselves. Yet, it’s an important time of our lives, the beginning of the second half of our lives. We’ve done a lot and have undoubtedly gone through lots of changes. There’s a shift that begins, marked by a different kind of awareness, one that notices the passing of time in a way quite different than previously noted when just living our lives was pretty much taken for granted.

With each decade that goes by, we take more notice of the changes in our physical bodies. The lines in our faces, the graying of our hair, the occasional aches and pains for no apparent reason (like falling off a ladder) are there for us to plainly see in our mirrors. But is that the only way we’re aware of the natural aging process? Do we also realize how we’ve changed internally, and how much closer we’re getting to becoming who we really are? Are we closing down or are we letting life in? The choice is ours.

by Susanna Starr, author

Fifty and Beyond: New Beginnings in Health and Well-Being

Here is my latest radio interview on Global Talk Radio. You can download the MP3.

Speaking of celebrations, check this one out (and maybe win an all expense paid trip to Taos).

And, my gallery, Starr Interiors, is having a celebration too:

June 07 - June 31

A Photographic “trip” through the Sixties and Seventies
Noted photographer, Paul Dembski, will show at the gallery of Starr Interiors
117 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos, N. M. during the month of June. Chronicler of the counter culture in Taos and other areas, Paul Dembski will be present at the artist’s reception to be held at Starr Interiors on Sunday, June 7th from 3-5 PM. Admission free.
Location: Starr Interiors, 117 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos, N. M.
For further information, call 1-800-748-1756

PS, I’m on chapter 14 of my new book. I’ll keep you posted.

PHOTO by Art Kopecky from New Buffalo: Journals from a Taos Commune

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Seeing is Not Always Believing

We're all well aware of how things change. Sometimes the changes are subtle enough for us not to take much notice. Sometimes they hit us suddenly like an unexpected storm with no warning. And, sometimes it's just a reminder of how we've moved through time.

That's how I felt when I viewed the photo of myself on this blog. "Wow, I really looked like THAT?" I thought, somewhat incredulously. "How long ago was the photo taken?" I knew my grandson had taken it when he was pretty young at a Christmas gathering in our home, but when was it?

Even the professional photo I have on the back of my book "Fifty and Beyond; New Beginnings in Health and Well Being" seems a little closer to how I look now or at least more of a bridge between the blog photo and what I see in the mirror.

For years, through writing and speaking, I've been encouraging people to not only accept themselves as they are, but to celebrate it. But, I admit it, it can be a jolt! One of the nicest aspects of the ways in which our bodies (including our face) change over time, is that it's so subtle, as if Mother Nature is breaking us in gently.

Once I got over the initial shock at the difference between now and then I'm aware, once again, of how much I have to be grateful for. Obviously the gratitude that I feel covers so many more important things which I'll get to in another blog bit. But this specific little bit of gratitude is that, in spite of the silver now in that dark head of hair, the face that well, frankly, just looks more aged, I feel great.

I'm still a small person, eating healthily, exercising pretty regularly and paying attention to my physical well being because I know how important it is to do everything I can to insure optimum health. No one, of course, has any guarantees but it certainly helps to do your own part in protecting the vital integrity of this blessed body we dwell in.

Well, that's two subjects for further blog bits, gratitude and integrity. Now, if I can just remember them the next time we get together.......

Susanna Starr, author,
Fifty and Beyond: New Beginnings in Health and Well-Being

Importance of Exercise

Get Started...

How do you feel about regular exercise? Do you go to your local spa or gym to workout? Are you walking, at a brisk pace, almost every day or at least a few times a week? Have you had experiences with exercise that have "turned you off?" Are you afraid that it's too late to start, although you've certainly heard about the health benefits? Do you feel that your body isn't one you'd feel comfortable displaying in front of strangers and so feel reluctant to join a club?

Or, are you like me, one of those who keep a disciplined exercise program, because you not only know it's good for you, but because you really enjoy it?

Taking Fitness for granted

For years, I took my body for granted. I led a very active life and felt that I was getting plenty of exercise in my work, rolling, lifting and folding heavy rugs. I'm not sure when or why I finally decided that it was time to start exercising in a different way and joined my local spa. At that time, I was in my fifties and (I thought) not in bad shape. I was soon to discover I had lots of room for improvement. I've been going every since and loving it! As a matter of fact, when I have to skip class for some reason, it feels like a deprivation.

It took some experimenting with various classes until I found myself comfortable with a program before deciding to work out with a personal trainer. The first person was good, but the second was fantastic and set the muscle tone and definition that I still maintain.

I walk fairly regularly and generally have been working out about four times a week. Now, I'm considering cutting back to three times a week and walking more, so that I can have a little more time at home, since the spa is half an hour's drive from my home .

Making time for exercise

Since I travel to Mexico fairly often, not only for my rug business, but to Rancho Encantado which is a small eco-retreat resort and spa in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, I have to make sure I don't completely let go of my regular routine. Walking is one of the things that I do each morning I'm at my home there. Not only does it keep my heart rate up,
but it's a time I gather my flowers, which is one of my great pleasures, so it's a double win situation.

If you already work out regularly, you know what I mean about the enjoyment of keeping yourself fit and healthy. If you don't and have just simply procrastinated (we all do), maybe now is the time to begin.

Paying Attention to your body
It's not only sensible, but important that you start out slowly, gradually building up to a pace that strengthens and provides you with the cardio workout we all need. Always listen to your body - it "knows." Many of us have been so out of touch with our bodies that we just don't pay attention to the various messages we're always receiving. The more you're in touch, the more you'll be responsive, knowing when to challenge yourself and when to take it easy.

Helen, another one of the elders I interviewed for my book, Fifty and Beyond: New Beginnings in Health and Well-Being, still drives herself to the spa almost every day and she's close to celebrating her 94th birthday. How's that for inspiration?
For more information about Helen and the other "elders" interviewed in my book, please check out my website www.fiftyandbeyond.com.

By Susanna Starr, author
Fifty and Beyond: New Beginnings in Health and Well-Being