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
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
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
Location: Starr Interiors, 117 Paseo
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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