Once I was fully immersed in this massive recap project, I began to realize that it was one way that a woman of advanced age (now 83) could recognize, and even enhance, the fruits of growing old, rather than just getting old.

Actually, I had been primed to develop this attitude since my 30s, when I recognized that “the body is primary.” The origins of this attitude were practical: Having “failed” after one year at the professorial job I landed after graduating with a PhD in philosophy from Boston University in 1973 — judged as “too experimental” for a college that labeled itself experimental in then hippie California — I decided to follow my bliss, which meant that my recent fascination with astrology might one day “pay off” for me as a consultant. However, I knew I wouldn’t get rich, and I certainly couldn’t count on a steady weekly or monthly income. Instead, I had to gear down; live as simply as possible and trust the universe. Plus: keep my body in shape, since I couldn’t afford health insurance!

Yes, that’s how “the body is primary” mantra began. And for me, at this point in my increasingly long life, daily practice includes two full hours of what I call “physical culture” — 4 mile walk, yoga, chikung, tai chi.

So far, with a body that cooperates, the sky’s the limit!

I aim to challenge mind and heart and spirit in diverse ways, all for the sake of continuously opening space. In other words, I’ve always operated on the necessity of eventually breaking any frame, even that of my current “identity” at any point in life. Here’s an essay I wrote back when I realized that I had morphed into a “violent peace activist.”

OPENSPACE IS A VERB

Oops! Just noticed that the above essay is not yet in the tendrepress.com archive. Lots more essays to add there. I estimate 400 in all.

What’s wonderful about tackling such a legacy project when one is growing old at 83, is that the wealth of memories just never stop flowing, flowering, resonating. Simply, I have never, ever, experienced, on an ongoing basis, such a rich territory to explore. And exploration, as a double Sagittarian, is my middle name!

Here’s my Dance of the Decades, from tendrepress.com.