Tag: Aging and Wisdom

Book reviews by D.G. Kaye

Sunday Book Review – Not Just Quotes by Dorothy Sander

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Today’s Sunday Book Review is for Dorothy Sander’s beautiful book – Not Just Quotes. This book was a beautiful read, written from the author’s perspective on life through her aging and wisdom experiences. Besides the author’s perspective, there are also pages added after each short chapter with questions we can answer for ourselves, along with various quotes on each topic from some of the greats in literature.

 

I was delighted to receive a paperback copy from the author after she emailed me and asked my permission if she could add my review of her earlier book to the editorial page of this book.

 

 

Blurb:

Quotes, essays and reflection questions entice readers to explore the fundamental principles that guide their lives. Essays from the author on topics that include Change, Courage, Beauty, Friendship and Wisdom are paired with quotes from well-known teachers, writers and spiritual guides and reflection questions. A perfect companion for exploring personal beliefs, especially during times of transition and change. Use as a practice for those who wish to align their external life with their internal beliefs and values.

 

My 5 Star Review:

This is a most beautiful book – from cover to words. Sander takes us with her on these short. yet, powerful self-reflections on the various elements of life through aging and wisdom. Some of the many topics covered are about love, joy, friendship, fear, forgiveness, and many more. Each chapter is written from the author’s perspective on the aforementioned topics, accompanied by questions she leaves with us to fill out on our own with lined spaces for us to express our thoughts in answer. To end each chapter there are beautiful quotes the author has compiled from some of the literary greats of our time, which relate to the topic of each chapter.

Two quotes that stuck out to me from Sander’s writing are on forgiveness and happiness.

Forgiveness – “The first step in finding forgiveness is to turn away from the other and turn toward ourselves.”

Happiness – “You cannot become unstuck by focusing on something outside of yourself, because the stuck-ness lives within you.”

This book is timeless and one I now keep by my bedside for a daily dose of inspiration.

D.G. Kaye's books reviewed

#ShareAReviewDay – Twenty Years After “I Do” by D. G. Kaye | The Write Stuff

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D.G. Kaye's books reviewed

Thank you Marcia Meara from The Write Stuff, for featuring my book – Twenty Years: After “I Do” on your wonderful new #ShareAReviewDay feature at your blog. Marcia has opened up submissions to share a review for your book. Please visit this link to find out how you too can be part of this wonderful promotional opportunity.

 

#ShareAReviewDay – Twenty Years After “I Do” by D. G. Kaye

Please join me today in welcoming D. G. Kaye (Debby Gies) to #ShareAReviewDay. Many of us know Deb from all sorts of places around social media, where she is a staunch supporter of writers everywhere. I’m very happy to have her share this review of “Twenty Years After “I Do,” and I know you will enjoy both reading it and sharing it with others. Thanks!

Source: Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord Invitation – Book Reviews

The emphasis on partnership is present throughout D.G. Kaye’s story of her 20 year marriage to Gordon. Whilst it is clear, that theirs was a wonderful love affair from the beginning, she does not flinch from describing the various aspects of their relationship in a very forthright and honest way.

Their relationship is a May/September love affair that was put to the test from very shortly after their marriage. . . continue reading

 

Source: #ShareAReviewDay – Twenty Years After “I Do” by D. G. Kaye | The Write Stuff

life happens

Guest author: D. G. Kaye – Aging and Changes: Maintaining the Privilege to Drive | Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo

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life happens

 

I was elated to be invited over to Sue Vincent’s blog, The Daily Echo, to share a post I wrote about my husband’s experience and red tape we encountered when trying to reinstate his driver’s license.

Guest author: D. G. Kaye – Aging and Changes: Maintaining the Privilege to Drive

 

On May 10th my husband turned eighty years old. God bless him, he’s made of Teflon because he’s bounced back from many ongoing ailments, many times. Turning eighty in Canada also means, by law, that it’s time to get re-tested with an aptitude and vision test by the Ministry of Transportation, and every two years thereafter to maintain a driver’s license.

My husband is a good driver and has been driving since he’s eight years old! I kid you not! Eight? You may be wondering, but yes, he grew up in a small town outside the big city of Toronto, on a farm. My husband drove a tractor by age eight to help his dad on the farm and began hauling cattle by the age of fourteen, so no surprise he aced his license at sixteen.

At twenty-two, hubby moved to the city and began selling cars, and still does when his health permits him. So it should have been no big deal for him to pass the re-evaluation test, which he did . . . except there was an issue with his vision test – one I wasn’t aware of.

The agent handed him a form asking that it be completed by his eye doctor, filled out after testing him then submitted by fax back to the Ministry to re-instate his license. She told us she would enter the form with the passing grade in the computer system, awaiting the completed eye test confirmation to reinstate his license. Only it wasn’t that simple. . . continue reading

 

Source: Guest author: D. G. Kaye – Aging and Changes: Maintaining the Privilege to Drive | Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo

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Eldest | Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo

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Aging and Wisdom

 

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Eldest

Posted on July 13, 2017 by 

 

“Just how old are you?”
Although youth has long died,
“As young as the moment,”
My body replied.
“If I want to play out
In the sun, or climb trees,
Run laughing through dewdrops,
…I’ll do as I please.
I have a few wrinkles,
My hair’s going grey…
Inside I’m a child
And I still need to play.”

 

 

“Just how old are you then?”
My body asked mind,
“As old as conception,
Just think and you’ll find
I’ve been here all along,
In your cells and your brain,
Learning forever and seeking to gain
From experience, wisdom
That I can impart…
But perhaps we should ask
Just how old is the heart?”

 

 

“Just how old are you?” Continue Reading , , .

 

Source: Eldest | Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo

Perennial years

Aging and Wisdom – The New Perennial Age of Women

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Perennial years

 

 

 

How many times have we said we don’t feel or look our age? When did middle-age sneak into our lives? Where did the years go?

I’m sure we’ve all begged the answers to those questions once or twice as we women approach our ‘Perennial’ years.

 

What comes to mind when women use the terms ‘the new 40 or 50′, even 60 or 70? Here’s a clue:  it encompasses so much more than just looks.

 

In my opinion, looks have changed since the last generation, without discounting so many other changes that have occurred through the decades to empower women. Women in their 40s and 50s look much younger than those from decades past. I’m not referring to the advent of cosmetic surgery, but when I look back on decades past, I notice some interesting hairdos and fashion statements.  Looking back at the women in my own family and even movie stars with the styles of yesteryear, it’s not hard for me to compare a woman of today in her 40s or 50s appearing younger looking than those before us at the same age. Was it the hairstyles, a more sedentary lifestyle which gave the impression a women in her 30s back when of 30 or 40 years ago looked similar in age to women now in their 40s or 50s?

 

Back in those days, women didn’t lead lifestyles like they do now, some with powerful jobs, being the bigger bread winner, many working what used to be considered, jobs for only men, or raising a family while carrying a job. “We’ve come a long way baby,” as the old cigarette ad used to say. (Am I giving away my age?)

 

I have to laugh at the many times me and my sister would bring up the subject of our dreaded childhood weekends we were forced to spend at our paternal grandparents’ house. We’d remark to one another about how even when we were small, our grandmother looked like . . . well, a grandmother. We only envision her old from as far back as we can remember. But lol, I digress.

 

What made me write this post on women then and now was prompted by a conversation I had on the weekend with one of my sister-in-laws. She shared a topic of discussion that came up between her and her yoga teacher. Her teacher had referred to women in the age group of 40s and 50s as ‘perennials’. Have any of you heard this term used before? I haven’t. But I love it.

 

I’ve heard of some more unflattering terms such as menopausal, even cougars, but not perennials.

 

According to the yoga teacher’s preferred term, perennial, it represents this age category because many women are reaching their full potential, ‘in full bloom’ as they enter their 40s and 50s. This age bracket is where many women enter new phases of life such as: the empty nest stage where their kids are finally moving out or getting married, making new lives for themselves or raising families. This is a time where women begin to re-evaluate their accomplishments and desires and come to realize they want to do things that either they may not have thought about doing when they were younger, or were too busy raising their families or building careers, choosing to put their own desires on hold.

 

I can identify with this wonderful choice of word, perennial, representing a time period of continuation of our evolving. We are still evolving and learning and doing. Every year we bloom with more knowledge from our experiences and eventually, the new bloom leads to desires of the ‘me time’. A time for us to focus on the things we enjoy whether it be travel, new hobbies, furthering our education, or even writing books.

 

So much can apply to this ‘new age’. The possibilities are endless if we allow ourselves the entitlement to flourish and bloom to complete ourselves for ourselves.

 

I absolutely adore the term ‘perennial’ and it does sound so much better than ‘the change’. In fact, there may even be a book from me down the road on the subject.

 

How do you feel about the term ‘perennial’?

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Empower

STORIES OF #COURAGE & #SURVIVAL– #ABUSE — Women of Wisdom Series™ |

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 empower

Dorothy Sanders is a memoir writer. Her blog Aging Abundantly is a place she shares her thoughts and wisdom on life and notable changes  and gratitudes, – changes in attitudes, growth, experience and how experiences affect the choices we continue to make after fifty.

 

About Dorothy:

 

PUTTING WORDS TO INTUITIONS

 

I write to put words to the feelings, truth, and intuitions that live within me, to find answers to life’s most pressing questions and to share what I discover along the way with those who are searching and /or suffering. I share my words, my discoveries, my thought processes, and my love and support  through articles, books, workshops and one-on-one coaching.  As I continue to search for my voice, my truth, my raison d’être, I love to share my journey and support others who are doing the same. Read more about Dorothy HERE 

Dorothy has started a new series, Voices of Wisdom, where   she has invited several memoir writers, including myself, to share some of our own wisdoms on subjects that became important in our lives. You can read my contribution Here.

 

Recently, Dorothy has written a beautiful article on memoir writers, and how our words have the power to encourage others who resonate with the emotional and physical abuse that we share in our stories, offering hope to the many who have yet to find their voice or claim their power. I was honored and humbled to find that me and my book Conflicted Hearts was chosen to add to her article, and I was deeply moved by her synopsis of my story. Please have a look at this article below.

“As part of The Women of Wisdom Series™, I am introducing three memoirs, each addressing the issue of abuse. Though the stories are different, the message is in many ways the same.  Each memoir sheds light on the impact of abuse on us and provides lessons in survival. The women describe their journeys from a place of strength and courage, characteristics they undoubtedly honed through their difficulties.

 

These women are people just like you and I and what I love about memoirs. Thanks to modern technology, and the increase of Indy Publishing, we are able to see into the lives of everyday people  It’s so exciting  that women are stepping up, one by one, and sharing their stories. They benefit from the telling, we benefit from the listening.

 

We all can learn from an author with a compelling story to tell. It doesn’t matter whether or not the book is worthy of a literary award. What matters is what we take away. . . Continue Reading

I want to share here, the beautiful statement Dorothy wrote regarding my book Conflicted Hearts:

 

CONFLICTED HEARTS:  A Daughter’s Quest for Solace from Emotional Guilt by D.G. Kaye

 

Conflicted Hearts Cover SMALL revised

“A girl’s relationship with her mother lasts a lifetime, but it is often not until we reach midlife that the complexity of a difficult connection comes into focus. What we come to believe about ourselves as adults through our interactions with our mother’s as children, is often not an accurate reflection of who we really are. This conflict, this inner disparity, either drives us toward disintegration or the truth.

D.G. Kaye took on this battle. In her book, Conflicted Hearts, she shares her story as she struggles to come to terms with her challenging and complex relationship with a mother she both loved and despised. It is a journey that all of us can relate to in one way or another. Kaye writes with honesty, candor, humor and courage as she peels back the layers and gains understanding and perspective. In the end we not only learn about the author, we learn about ourselves and may even come to see our own mother/daughter relationship a more clearly.

Sit down with a cup of coffee or tea, and enjoy this journey into one woman’s world. When you put down the book, you will feel as though you’ve gained a friend.”

As a memoir writer, I can honestly say writing in this genre is often difficult.  There are days when I have to walk away from writing to put my head in a different space, like coming up for air. I began writing Conflicted Hearts after years of journaling about my life, and consequently it led to writing a sequel, P.S. I Forgive You, a closure to that part of my life that existed within me for most of my life, written after my mother’s eventual death. But through the writing, it became a release of the emotional pain, and the best part about sharing pain and learning how to overcome is the reward that comes along with it. It’s inspiring to find that I have helped others in some small way, others who have endured similar paths with their own emotionally abused issues. We are not alone. And together we have the power to lift and enlighten one another and those who’ve yet to find the courage to walk away from what doesn’t serve them as healthy.

 

Visit Dorothy’s books 

 

Source: STORIES OF COURAGE & SURVIVAL– ABUSE — Women of Wisdom Series™ |

Aging and Wisdom

THE VALUE OF #GRATITUDE – Voices of Wisdom Guest Post |D.G. Kaye

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aging and wisdom

Today I’m sharing a recent article I was invited to write and share on Dorothy Sander’s blog, Aging Abundantly.

 

Dorothy writes about the wisdom we gain as we age. And her new series, which I was thrilled to be the first in, is entitled ‘The Voices of Wisdom’ – The Value of Gratitude.

 

Read the article below and you can continue reading on Dorothy’s blog.

 

Wisdom comes with the ability to be still. Just look and just listen. No more is needed. Being still, looking, and listening activates the non-conceptual intelligence within you. Let stillness direct your words and actions. ECKHART TOLLE

 

I’m so happy to introduce Debby Gies, our first contributor to the The Voices of Wisdom Series.  Debby, an author and prolific writer, captured my attention somewhere in cyberspace.  I  was drawn to her enthusiasm for life and read her book, Conflicted Hearts, a memoir in which her strength and courage is made visible and her zest for life contagious.

 

The Voices of Wisdom series is an ongoing series featuring guest posts by women of wisdom. Each guest will share some piece of wisdom gleaned from their life challenges. Stay tuned. We have more captivating reads ahead!

My Journey Through Mid-Life and What I Learned

By Debby Gies

Have you ever been on a ride that was completely smooth – no bumps, no valleys, and no inclines? I can say with certainty that I haven’t, and naturally, my journey through mid-life was no exception.

 

When I was young, I thought I was invincible. My plans to battle age developed decades before I hit my mid-life years. My arsenal of age-fighters were nothing short of trying to maintain a healthy eating and exercise regime, and an ongoing supply of whatever beauty aids, creams, potions, and lotions I would read about, in efforts to preserve myself from aging.

 

But the truth is, aging is a natural process of life. And, it entails much more than just our physical attributes. As I transitioned into my middle years, many things changed. My perceptions and values changed, my evaluations on friendships changed, even my tolerances and gratitudes changed.

 

Time became more apparent; not all of these things happened simultaneously, but as the hands of time began pointing in the direction of fifty, I noticed several changes within myself.

 

I BECAME MORE AWARE OF PASSING TIME

 

Although the healthy measures I adapted to when I was younger were moderately paying off, staving off wrinkles as best I could, my attitude towards life in general had changed.

 

I became a lot more aware of how quickly the days were passing, and how illness can change life in a flash. And I became concerned about the fact that I hadn’t accomplished anything that made me feel like I would be leaving my footprints behind when it came time for me to go to the next world. I felt time closing in on me. Continue Reading . . . 

Source: THE VALUE OF GRATITUDE – Voices of Wisdom Guest Post |