Lyrics: When I was seventeen IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR . . .
The first day of the Sage-ing Conference I found myself partnered with a lovely gentleman to share what we wanted in this elder stage of our lives. My response came readily and even surprised me: I want to know my purpose. I am no longer a wife, a working nurse, a Healing Touch instructor; roles that directed and gave purpose to my life. Those roles weren’t, of course, the only roles; I am still a mother, grandmother, sister etc., but I sense that although still very important to me, they’re not primary at this stage of my life, that there’s a greater purpose for these elder years. I found myself on the same page with around 300 delightful elders from all over the world who heard inspiring keynoters and attended workshops on a wide range of topics from “positive aging,” “conscious eldering,” “harvesting life experiences,” “aging as a spiritual practice,” “wisdom circles,” “becoming sages, and “leaving legacies for future generations.” I took few notes (no test at the end) and spent a lot of money on books including The Power of Purpose; Finding Meaning, Live Longer, Better. I don’t expect to find my purpose in the pages of that book but the table of contents offered promise.
A theme running through the conference was the importance of our stories, the legacy within our stories. I have started a new story connected to my paternal grandfather, a gruff, dominating, no-nonsense German who was struck by an automobile and died when I was eight. I don’t know much about him and there’s no one living today to ask but as I prepare for a trip to Germany, my curiosity about him grows. A small miracle happened as I rummaged through a box of vintage photographs. I found the little program given out at his funeral service listing his birthdate, March 12, 1870. I am told that Germans are the greatest record keepers and I do know the place of his birth so I will look for him there. My daughter-in-law, currently living in Germany, is making inquiries. As far as I know this town was not bombed in WWII and since Europe doesn’t tear down its structures as readily as we do, there’s a chance that I can find the very house he was born in, where my great-grandparents lived. Oh what stories there are to be found in our past.
The TV series, Who Do You Think You Are, looks into the genealogy of celebrities and the stories are often quite poignant and inspiring. Recently actor, Jim Parsons (Dr. Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory), discovered that one of his “great-greats” was architect for King Louis XIV and entertained Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, and in another show Kelsey Grammar (Dr. Frasier Crane) said a prayer for a young son of his “great-greats” who died of cholera and was buried on the Oregon Trail.
Learning about my grandfather does not define the purpose of my life but my story is my legacy and Germany is the next chapter.
Lyrics: But now . . . I’m in the autumn of the year/And now I think of my life as vintage wine from fine old kegs/From the brim to the dregs . . (Songwriters: Ervin Drake. Frank Sinatra classic.)
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