You might remember that several years ago, I had the immense privilege of having Parker Palmer on the podcast. I’d been a fan of his writing for many years and having him on for the conversation was a lifetime highlight. I copied the following from his most recent Facebook posts. I hope you find it as meaningful as I do.
The older I get, the more I value this Elizabeth Jennings poem. Happy are those elders who can look in the mirror and say, “My face is as wrinkled and worn as an oft-folded map.
But it’s a map of my life, of all the ups and downs. I’m grateful for the journey, for what I gained from it, and for the chance to travel on for a while, living and loving and learning as I go.”
The poem dives deep with a line whose out-of-order words slow us down enough to absorb the meaning: “Self portraits understand, / and old age can divest, / with truthful changes, / us of fear of death.”
When we look at our own aging through the eyes of truth and love, the end of the journey becomes less daunting. Then, as Jennings writes, “all the darknesses are dared,” and we walk into “what each must reckon with” with less fear and more acceptance.
