Meet Dante!



This is my Grandson Dante.  I call him my prince.  To him, I am Gigi.  He is 4 months old and after 4 daughters, you can imagine what a blessing this beautiful boy is to our family.  He is the light of our lives.  I remember the instant he was born and it was the moment in my life that I knew I was comfortable with my own physical mortality, and in fact it was the first time I knew for certain that I was actually immortal.  Now I do not mean I'm immortal in the sparkly vampire sense(and if you rip their heads off and burn them they die so they really aren't right?) but in the eternal life sense.

Often, when people learn they are to be grandparents it solidifies for them the destiny that we all face, that of our growing older and our eventual departure from this life.  In my quest for purpose in life, and my thirst for knowledge, in all my work with people as a life coach, one of the most common fears I have encountered that of aging and dying.

Tied up in that is the very human tendency to be afraid of any change in our lives.  Yet all life is change so to be afraid of it is to bicycle uphill constantly, working hard, exhausting yourself.  It means never coasting along, taking the turns in the road as they come, and enjoying what's around the bend instead of fearing it.

My life has been a whirlwind of change lately and yet, I am exactly the same person I was six months ago.  My spirit is the same, my essence is unchanged.  I've learned some lessons, discovered some truths and I celebrate every dash of pain and every shake of hurt and most importantly every ounce of love that brought me to the realisation that the part of me that matters, the very core of me, the actual real self is forever.

I may change my behaviour, I may change in my physical appearance, I may get fatter, skinnier(highly unlikely), older, grayer, wrinklier and  yet, I am still the same energy that sits here typing this post and that cried her first wails when she slipped into this crazy world in 1966.

And so I celebrate Dante and all the grandchildren and gray hairs to come.  I celebrate the loves of my life, the joys of my life and most of all the changes that take place around me. And when things are difficult, when the bend opens to challenges and pain instead of ease I'll take my comfort from the fact that I, the essential me, no matter where I go, and what goes on around me remains constant.  I also know that after this body is done and no longer able to support this spirit, I'll simply slip it off and head happily into the next great adventure.

All of us are on this same journey.  Pull your children closer, celebrate your grandchildren, love the people who love you completely and openly and accept their love of you without condition or concern.  Embrace your anger and hurt and feel your pain. Cry when you're sad.  But when you are through, smile and laugh and love yourself, your true self.  It's that spark inside of you that is the only thing in your life that is guaranteed to remain unchanged.

Namaste



Comments

Karen Baldwin said…
Ah yes . . . the wonder of grandchildren. They are a blessing. I love how you see life. Your spirit sings and I hear the melody.
Thank you :) He is such a wonder and joy as are my children and my whole family and all my friends. I'm very blessed and I know it.