| Dear John, “It is an audacious notion to put forth in this age of science and willful determination that one’s existence is somehow inspired, guided, and even managed by unseen forces outside our control. Whether called fate, destiny, or the hand of God, slender threads are at work bringing coherence and continuity to our lives. Over time they weave a remarkable tapestry.” This is the opening paragraph from one of my favorite books by Jerry Ruhl and Robert Johnson called Balancing Heaven and Earth and this week’s blog is about one of those slender threads. In January 2020, I began making notes about how my practice of self-care was changing as a result of growing older and coming off the road. Inspired by several things that happened in my life prior, I made a conscious decision to shift my attention from work and the constant striving to achieve goals, to a practice of presence that allowed for more soulful living. As a result, I became enamored with simplicity, beauty, nature, and the micro-moments of joy that began to fill my daily life. In October of that same year, I considered putting my notes into an audio format because I had also become fond of listening to books during the pandemic, and because I wanted to share the story with readers in a more intimate way. I also figured it might be a smart way to test the idea for a possible future book. One day, while out for a walk, I thought about contacting Tami Simon, the founder of Sounds True, someone I had recorded with more than twenty-five years earlier and hadn’t spoken to since. The very next day I received a LinkedIn invitation from Tami out of the blue. I recognized it as a slender thread cast forward by life and I sent her an email with my idea. Tami wrote back immediately and we set up a time to talk. Shortly after our conversation, the decision was made to create an audio project together called Self Care for the Wisdom Years. This slender thread led to the publishing of this new project and I’m happy to share both the audiobook with you and a podcast I recorded with Tami last month where we talk about aging, my new ways of practicing self-care, and what it means to live a soul-directed life. I hope the audiobook and the podcast speak to you in a helpful, meaningful way ❤️. Please don’t buy into society’s negative messages about aging. Your wisdom years can be the best time of your life! It’s my hope that the guidance, practices, and support I offer in this new audiobook will help you to do several things: Finally make friends with your body; fearlessly protect your time and energy (minus the guilt); build a community of friends who love and support you; cultivate a calm inner state that will help you weather any storm; and ultimately, become the kind of elder who is inspiring and helpful to others. Most of all, my wish is that you discover that your wisdom years can be a delicious, wild adventure that finds you doing things you never thought you’d do with people who have your back and your heart. Enjoy! You can find the audiobook here and the podcast here. Love,
Cheryl Need a little Divine Direction? Use the “Touch of Grace” button at the bottom of our homepage here. | 
