Living and Loving Fearlessly

“Life will break you.

Nobody can protect you from that,

and living alone won’t either,

for solitude will also break you with its yearning.

You have to love.

You have to feel.

It is the reason you are here on earth.

You are here to risk your heart.

You are here to be swallowed up.

And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near,

Let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps,

Wasting their sweetness.

Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could.”
― Louise Erdrich, The Painted Drum LP

Photo by Robert Sturman

Yesterday I found a new role mode, in an Elephant Journal article by Robert Sturman about The Guiness Book of Records reigning oldest living yoga teacher, 93 year old Tao Porchon Lynch.   As impressive as her strength and flexibility are for someone of any age, let alone a nonagenarian, it is much more than her physical prowess that enchants me about this radiant being.

For not only does she love yoga, but also wine and dancing the tango.

In a interview with Tara Stiles-Parker, she credits her longevity and zest for living to proper breathing and making a concerted effort to think positive thoughts, along with a nightly shoulder stand before bed each night.     She eschews fear and procrastination, simply doing the next right thing without delay.

She beams and twinkles with a light that simply dazzles me.

“Smile at everyone”

She advises as she illustrates the phenomenal magnetism of her charismatic charm.

This is how I want to live my life.

Waking up grateful for each new day,

thrilled by the prospect of all that I can learn,

all the wonderful places and beautiful people to be met,

making the most of the great gift of life

and blessing all I see with a smile.