The Gifts of Aging
Topics:
The Gifts of Aging
Thursday, September 26, 2024 (Private/Phone)
Participants: Mary (Michael), Daniel (Zynn) and Natasha (Nicole)
(Audio begins partway through session)
DAN: I hear what aging is not. You tell people no, it doesn’t mean you have to be weak; no, it doesn’t mean you have to be sick; no, it doesn't mean you have to be forgetful. You dispel a lot of myths about aging. But at the same time, you say aging is a very, very real concept that is built into our blueprint, I suppose. So what aging is: Can you give us some points that we can observe or expect that are beneficial, potentially? You know, what aging is; what is a gift of aging?
ELIAS: What is a gift of aging is experience and wisdom, that the more you develop, the more you age, the more experiences you have and the more you understand. That doesn’t mean you understand everything, but it does mean that you understand more about your reality, and you understand more about how to maneuver in it.
I would say that it also gives you wisdom. And I would say that for most individuals, another factor that aging gives you is more patience – that you have a tendency to be more allowing the older that you become. And the reason for that is that the older you become, and the more experiences that you’ve had, the more you move in directions of realizing many things that you made important when you were younger that are not necessarily important. And therefore, it allows you more patience.
I would say that (pause) it depends on the individual – other than what I’ve expressed – which, those things are automatic. But other than those, I would say that each individual moves in their own direction of evaluating what becomes more important to them, and in that, moving in directions that are more beneficial because of that shifting importance – such as the music and your partner expressing wanting to learn more because it expands her. And in that, I would say that each individual moves in their own direction of shifting importances and what becomes more important to them.
I would also say that aging actually makes your story more important. You begin to look at your life and your experiences from a different perspective, from the perspective of how all those experiences have created a story, YOUR story, and that it’s important to share that with other people.
It also creates more of an importance of sharing with others, touching – that you touch other peoples’ lives and that you allow them to touch yours. And I would say that what that means is that you realize the importance of expressing connection and interconnectedness, that THAT becomes much more important.
When you’re younger, it’s more important to be you and move in your direction, and you don’t think so much about connection because you’re developing you. But as you grow older, it does become important that you are expressing connection and that you are seeing the interconnectedness of everything.
And in that, it gives you that perception that life is precious.
NATASHA: Yes. Yes. That’s –
ELIAS: That it is something to, in a manner of speaking, hold in reverence. That you’ve come into this reality for a very short time, and in that short time, everything that you are experiencing is important because life itself is so precious.
NATASHA: Yes. Beautiful.
ELIAS: You SEE that. And I would say that these are all gifts of age.
NATASHA: Beautiful, Elias.
ELIAS: Not all of the things that people concern themselves with.
And actually, I would say that people that are moving more in a direction of being more self-aware, and recognizing that interconnectedness, eventually become aware that the aging process is natural and elegant.
NATASHA: Elegant – wow.
ELIAS: Because it is elegantly moving you in the direction of exiting this reality. You weren’t meant to be engaging this reality forever.
NATASHA: Yeah.
ELIAS: And in that, I would say that the aging process is that expression of each individual moving in that elegant direction to take their leave of this reality in the same manner that an actor leaves the stage of a play.
NATASHA: Wow.
ELIAS: Those are the gifts of aging, and what aging is. That doesn’t mean you have to be crippled. It doesn’t mean that you have to be less effective or less cognizant of reality. It doesn’t mean any of those things. I would say that many people move in those directions. Especially in your present time framework, people are moving in the direction of dementia or senility or Alzheimer’s more and more, but that is more associated with (pause) coping.
NATASHA: Mm-hm. I was thinking “escaping” when you said coping. (Laughs)
ELIAS: In a manner of speaking, yes, because it is how people cope.
NATASHA: Yeah.
ELIAS: Because people in your present time framework, and I would say in the last 70 to 80 years in your reality, have moved in difficult experiences, and therefore they are moving towards the end of their lives and it’s more difficult for them to cope. And in that, I would say that, in a manner of speaking, even these individuals are finding their own elegant method of departing from this reality, by moving in and out of different times and different places.
NATASHA: Wow.
ELIAS: Therefore, it’s very individual. I would say that the more self-aware you are, the more likely you are to move in the direction of aging more similar to a swan gliding on the water.
NATASHA: Oh god. How beautiful, this.
ELIAS: And that is very similar to what you ARE, my friends. (Laughter)
NATASHA: Thank you, Elias.
ELIAS: You are very, very welcome. And I would say that… Thank you for asking that question, because I would say that it’s good for humans to have the other side of the question.
NATASHA: Yes, I agree. Yeah. (To Daniel) You need to share this part.
DANIEL: Yes. Yes.
ELIAS: It is not only what ISN’T aging or automatic or natural to aging, but what IS!
NATASHA: Yes.
(Excerpt ends after 14 minutes)
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