young girl statue in old garden

The year two thousand ten has aged out just about as far as it can today. It is passing away and so are we…

I’d like to recommend a book: “This is Getting Old” by Susan Moon, Zen teacher and writer She also wrote the very funny, “Letters of Tofu Roshi”. Even if you are not yet “getting old” or at least feeling older, Susan Moon writes with rich wisdom and gentleness that you will probably enjoy her book.
The entire book involves her clear and simple observations about changing life and her body as it is aging. Really an enjoyable read and an oh-so familiar story for us as we age. Many of her examples and reflections ring true for me. They resonate for me as simple daily discoveries I am making on my own. For instance, finding that suddenly I have become “invisible” in a crowd or large social gathering. It’s a a different way to practice the “spirituality of aging.” Invisiblity seems to be a kind of prejudice against the elderly and I resent it. It may be due to our getting lighter hair and a stooped posture, I am not sure. We are simply no longer seen. I first discovered this fact while standing at a crowded counter waiting to be asked for my coffee order. Why is the older gray-haired woman passed over repeatedly? Sometimes when it happens I stop and point it out to a woman standing next to me who has jumped ahead because she was called upon by the waiter. She will be honestly surprised. Her behavior was not deliberate; she just didn’t notice me. She might even say so, which hurts even more.

Susan Moon makes so many fine points about aging with grace and compassion. When she wrote this book she had “only” turned 60. It might be interesting to see what she writes in another 20 years. At only 170 pages it one of those books I enjoy reading and taking time to ponder the lifetime of wisdom Susan Moon shares.