“The eternal quest of the individual human being is to shatter one's loneliness.” — Norman Cousins Loneliness is not always the absence of people. Sometimes it shows up in the middle of everyday life. It can be felt in a room that has slowly grown quieter, in a
There are mornings when the lower back wakes us before the first cup of coffee has a chance to help. Most of us treat these moments as minor irritations—one more reminder that the body is no longer as forgiving as it once was. And yet, every so
Forgive me at the outset. I like puns. Years ago, my best friend’s mother would say they were the lowest form of humor. We disagreed. A good pun, if it holds, does more than play with words. It carries two meanings at once and lets them
What we pass on in later life is not always noticed. A way of listening. A habit of care. The way someone shows up. Later in life, that may matter more than we think. This week’s Spiritual Signals looks at what different traditions have to say about
What Lloyd Hammons and Diane Mahree reveal about belonging in later life Some lives are spent searching for where they belong. Others settle into place almost without intending to. In the first reflection in this series, The Man Who Stayed, we considered the story of Lloyd Russell
Last Sunday’s reflection asked where we belong now. This week, we consider what it means to practice staying with what matters in later life. For many who have done the inner work, that question eventually becomes quieter and more demanding. It shifts from geography to attention.
A man who stayed. A woman who traveled. What their lives ask of us. Last Sunday, we reflected on a man who spent nearly his entire life on the land where he was born. Lloyd Russell Hammons didn’t leave when others did. He didn’t stay to
In the first half of life, much of our energy goes outward. We build. We prove. We establish roles that help us survive and belong. We learn what is expected of us—and, often without realizing it, we learn how to meet those expectations well. For many
One of the quiet shifts of attention in later life is not what we can no longer do, but what we no longer tolerate. Attention changes. What once felt urgent begins to feel optional. What once passed unnoticed starts to ask for care. This is not
Each of the agreements we’ve been reflecting on asks for a loosening. A loosening of how we speak. A loosening of how we react. A loosening of the stories we tell ourselves too quickly. The final agreement turns our attention in a different direction: Always do your best. Not