BIG CRONE ENERGY
Hello there and happy Tuesday! I hope this week finds you thinking about what a badass you want to be when you're in your eighties, nineties and beyond. I'm drinking Matcha Tea this morning and thinking about old crones who don't give a shit!
I was recently doing a meditation and the teacher guided us to look into the future at our very old selves and consider what it might be like to be joyfully old. How that would feel and what we would need to embrace in order to invite that sense of joy.
I have to admit that I had never really considered it. I mean, my name is Helen and I already love to sit at home with a cup of tea while watching a British murder mystery. So I'm living that joyful eighty year old life right now! But when I really sat with the questions and thought about what appeals to me in ageing, it's often (at least for many of the women I've met) that sense of throwing the middle finger up at societal expectations and embracing what works for you.
As women, we live under a microscope in this world. We are expected to look and behave a certain way and any deviation from that is considered a failure. But here's the thing, after you hit a certain age, the microscope is slightly less interested in you. And while that can feel jarring and isolating, it can also be extremely freeing.You know that saying "dance like nobody's watching"? Well, since I turned 40, I generally feel like no one is watching so I can dance any freaking way I want to. I can try new things, I get hollered at less in the street, I'm wearing whatever the hell I want and I really really love it.
I want to carry that energy forward and rather than looking at getting older as a decline, I am asking "what else do I want to do?". I no longer want to be the princess in the fairy tale, I want to be the old witch in the forest. I mean, she owns her own home, she's killing it living by herself, she cackles constantly so we know she's having a great time. And she honestly doesn't give a shit that the townspeople don't want to hang out with her. She's got magic and she knows she's a badass. That amazing crone energy is where I want to be.
And so the question becomes, how can I be of service to that now? How can I live my life now in a way that my glorious old crone future self would applaud? Being less rigid is one thing that's come up for me. Letting go of things that don't make me happy is another. Moving my body more so that I'm limber enough to dance around my cauldron. Looking to other awesome older women for support and inspiration and spending time with my incredible friends who I know are going to be cackling around their own cottages. Lifting each other up and embracing time as it passes rather than scrambling for youth.
It is a privilege to age. And I know that it's also harrowing and it can be painful, but I'd rather aim for joy and mischief than sit around wishing I was still twenty. Old crones are awesome and I really want to be one when it's time. I'm already embracing a body that society loves to be angry with, so why not go the extra mile and get joyfully old just to add fuel to that fire? Whose with me? You're welcome at my cottage any time.
As always, I'd love to hear about it! What kind of joyful crone do you want to be and how can you live your life in service of that goal? What kind of mindset shifts need to happen for you to embrace ageing? Let me know in the comments below.
As you move through this week, remember to treat yourself and your body with love, respect and kindness.
Much love,
Helen xo