Members of my extended family just welcomed a beautiful little girl into the world. And as with all newborns, one can see in her face the wisdom and knowing of an ancient being.
Ironically, what I realized when I beheld her peaceful countenance in the first photographs, is that from the MOMENT we take BEarth, we’re already described as ‘old.’ Whether we’re One Minute Old’ or One Hundred Years Old –– we are aged from the start of our journey from the womb to the tomb.
The online etymological dictionary defines ‘old’ as, “antique, of ancient origin, belonging to antiquity, primeval; long in existence or use; near the end of the normal span of life …” Among these descriptions, the phrase that seems most appropriate for a newborn is, ‘of ancient origin.’ That’s certainly true for all of us –– given that we are literally made out of star dust. And chances are, this isn’t our first adventure on Earth.
However, getting labeled with the adjective ‘Old,’ as soon as we arrive, seems to me to be akin to the stigma of ‘Original Sin.’ This theoretical fatal flaw, ascribed to us all by Roman Catholic doctrine, brands every newborn with some kind of invisible, metaphysical birthmark that keeps them from traveling the Highway to Heaven without first paying the heavy toll of obedience to some overlording authority.
In the Beginning … The whole problem began, according to the story, when a woman in a Garden seduced by a snake took a bite from an apple –– then the whole world fell to Hell. How did we ever fall for that story and allow ourselves to be branded by it?
The original commandment that Eve and Adam violated could be summed up simply as, ‘No Know!’ And the Fall that their small bytes of knowledge precipitated was from a timeless state of Being in the Present –– into the perennial tense of time. Thus, whether past, present or future, we are tense at all times. So, it’s no wonder that we speak of having a nervous system!’ How could it be otherwise –– given that terminology and all that it implies?
The Fall from Eden –– the abundant Garden of perpetual summer –– was quickly followed by the descent into the frozen, fruitless wasteland of winter (which came from the 1st Couple’s Original Disobedience or dissent). Yet, a perennial promise remained of an eventual Spring-ing back to Paradise.
The word Eden[1] is a fun one to play with. As I write in, The Book of E: A Book of Alphabet Alchemy[2] ––
The fact that all needs were met,
May even be the reason N-E-E-D and E-D-E-N
Share the same three letters of the AlphaBet.
I also mention in The Book of E, that I believe ‘Original Sin’ would be more accurately spelled as ‘Original Syn.’ After all, it is that SYN[3]cing feeling –– of being in harmony with higher frequencies –– that truly feels Heavenly to us, and assures us access to our own inborn wisdom, which is, itself, of ancient origins.
When in a heavenly state of bliss and grace, we may sense divine qualities of Being such as incandescent Beauty, unconditional Love, sacred healing presence, and imperturbable equanimity. Being in-Sync with our essential nature also transports us to the eternal KNOW where we are KNEW in every moment –– as every wise KNEW-born KNOWS innately.
The body, of course, does have a clock that eventually winds down and stops. But in my WordMagical way of viewing it, dying (dyeing) is like changing colors. It’s just that we become transparent and thus exist beyond the spectrum of ordinary human perception.
So, if we can never really die, doesn’t that mean that in an Infinite Universe, we can never actually grow old? An infant is ancient in spirit yet new in form. But the longer one is in-formed by the thought-forms in circulation around us, the more we may hold onto some old, outdated ideas that actually do age the body and mind. The result could best be described as a hardening of our ‘ardor-ease’ –– which is our ability to love ardently and whole-heartedly with body, mind and spirit.
Identifying ourselves with words like ‘old’ and ‘age’ –– which connote wilting, withering, and ceasing to exist –– contribute to an attitude of inevitable decrepitude. For the words we choose to use have a role to play in how we age on Earth.
Consider the word menopause[4] –– a defining moment in a woman’s life. In the West, it signals a woman’s downhill slide toward old age with its accompanying loss of sexual attractiveness and function. The word is of ancient origin and relates to the month and the Moon. But the fact that it sounds like ‘men-o-pause,’ seems to reflect many women’s experience of rejection.
The symptoms accompanying menopause actually vary in different cultures –– depending, in part, on whether the wisdom that comes with age is valued in a woman or not. In Japan, a word for menopause, Konenki, means ‘Renewal of life.’ In China, it is referred to as the Second Spring –– a time that brings greater creativity, social freedom and confidence. Given that words cast spells that function like hypnotic suggestions and self-fulling prophecies, women’s menopausal symptoms in Japan and China are generally less severe than they are in the West.[5]
So, let us not age ourselves prematurely by using the time-worn and debilitating adjective ‘Old.’ I suggest we adopt a more uplifting way to describe how long we’ve been present in our present form. In fact, why not exchange the word ‘old’ for ‘Present,’ itself. Then, whether a Minute or a Century Present –– we acknowledge with this word that we really are designed to be God’s gift to the World, sharing our gifts to enrich the common-wealth.
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[1] Eden comes from Hebrew and means a place of pleasure
[2] The Book of E is my gift to subscribers to my WordMagic Global website.
[3] Syn means ‘together with, jointly; alike; at the same time,”
[4] Menstruation is a word of evidently uncertain origin that relates to words for month and the Moon.
[5] Menopause Around the World by Jennifer Chandler
