Sixty feels like the biggest threshold I’ve crossed so far.
Time feels different and moves a lot faster.
In reality, I probably have 20 or so working years left…
No time to waste.
My priorities have changed, that’s for sure.
Here are four things that are true for me at sixty:
1. Happiness is simpler than we imagine –
I’ve spent more than thirty years immersed in healing, energy work, meditation, ceremony, shamanism, feng shui, embodiment practices and all the wonderfully “spiritual” things.
And yet, the deepest medicine for my own heart over the past year is… six kilograms of Jack Russell!
My heart overflows with love and joy in her company. Isidora lives simply in the moment. She makes me laugh out loud daily. Our daily walks and swims are adventures in beauty and open up my social life.
Love and joy are found in simple things.
2. Don’t postpone the things that matter most to your heart
Turning sixty has made me realise just how quickly decades pass.
I still dream of creating a beautiful retreat centre surrounded by gardens, flowers, medicinal plants and a temple space where people can heal, be creative and celebrate life.
However, I can’t put life on hold until then. I’ll keep creating beauty in my garden where I live now, and make this my healing temple.
If this builds to the big dream then AMAZING!
And if not then I’ll have enjoyed the journey and the dream anyway.
Whatever it is you yearn and dream about, do it now!
3. Celebrate one another while we’re actually here.
Family isn’t always about blood. I’m mostly estranged from my biological family, and that has been painful at times.
However, my friends are my chosen family – people who get, love, appreciate and respect each other.
For my sixtieth birthday, nearly forty of my favourite humans gathered in Portugal for a long weekend of healing, ceremony, merriment and celebration. Witnessing everyone having such a wonderful time together nourished my heart more than I can express.
It also left me with an unexpected thought – When my time eventually comes, I don’t think I’ll need much of a wake.I feel as though I have already received enough love, appreciation and hugs for one lifetime. What a gift! Let’s aim to appreciate one another while we’re actually here, rather than at funerals when we’ve died.
4. With love, belonging and support, anything’s possible – the best times may still be ahead.
You never know what’s around the corner. And that FOMO has kept me going through times when I’ve experienced isolation, uncertainty and grief. Life hasn’t unfolded the way I expected – and yet somehow I’m still here, and with the connections, belonging and support I do have – I feel loved, blessed and genuinely excited for my 60’s. I have a feeling that the best may be yet to come…
With love,
Sue
