Ageism, part deux: the crone.

The Wikipedia definition of crone is: “the stock character in folklore and fairy tale, an old woman. In some stories she is disagreeable, malicious or sinister in manner, often with magical or supernatural associations that can make her either helpful or obstructing. The Crone is also an archetypal figure, a Wise Woman. As a character type, the crone shares characteristics with the hag.”

I decided to look up Crone images. Here is my personal favorite:

She’s called “Whiney Crone” — seriously?!

Am I over 60? Yes! Am I a hag? Hell no! I consider myself to be a vital, vibrant, and relevant woman of a certain age. I have lived a life of ups and downs, triumphs and disappointments, some major “ugh” moments and some “wow, I’m glad I did that” moments. I’m at a place where I’m okay with all of it. I’m certainly not done living, learning, or sharing. I still have desires, passions, dreams, and hopes. The gift of age is wisdom, and I am happy knowing and embracing that this is my life and I get to live it my way. It has taken me a long time to get to this place…so many years of living the life of others, the life I thought I was supposed to be living. But I never fully committed to any of it, because I wasn’t in it for the right reasons.

As I look back though, there isn’t a thing I would change. After all, it has brought me to where I am now. I would like to pass along what I’ve learned, although I’m not sure there is any easy way around our individual journeys. The wisdom we gather along the way is a priceless gift for the small price of growing older each year. And let’s face it, there isn’t any other way.

I remember turning 60 on September 20, 2016 and feeling this huge sense of liberation, almost like I had crossed a special bridge. Not everyone feels this way. For some it’s OLD. I don’t feel old because I can still do everything I did in my 30’s. The difference is now, if I don’t want to do something, I just don’t.

I don’t feel like I’m in my 60’s, not that I have any idea how that’s “supposed” to feel. I just know that Whiney Crone is not a fair representation of me. I am determined to embrace this time of my life with joy, passion, and vitality. For me, this is a beginning. I am beginning to truly listen to my intuition and truly listen to my hard-earned wisdom. I am beginning to ask myself what I really want to create, what I really want to experience. It can be a little daunting, but it’s also really exciting to be the Mistress of My Own Universe. I refuse to believe I can’t have a new career, a passionate and loving relationship, travel the world, learn a new skill, or whatever else my heart desires.

There are plenty of women who feel as I do. Women who are enjoying the heck out of life. Still working, creating, and living. Yes, we are the elders, but sometimes the old folks are loving life more than younger folks are.

Here is my advice: don’t wait to feel liberated. Practice; it takes a while to figure out what liberated feels like for you. Do things to embrace the magic of you, as often as you can. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Take care of yourself, treat yourself, nurture yourself…often and however you can. Allow the beauty within you to shine out, radiate the essence of what makes you unique in this world. There isn’t any reason to dread the aging process, because the gifts are far greater than we could even imagine. Be open to the gifts.

So yes, I am a crone, a Modern-Day Crone. I am beautiful, wise, and ready to be the best version of myself until I run out of days to live. I wish I had known then what I know now. I spent too much time thinking I wasn’t enough, worrying about what others think about me. It never really mattered.

I want every woman to know she is perfect. She is everything.

I think Yogi Bhajan says it so eloquently:

“If a woman sits with folded hands in her lap for a few minutes every day, and she feels she is a container so vast that she contains the whole Universe, she will never feel weak or have any problems. There is nothing beyond woman except God.”

The older I get, the more wisdom I accumulate. The more I know, the more I can share. I am here to spread the word of the Modern-Day Crone. Life is beautiful at any and every age.

Now this is more like it!