Did you ever watch the Cybill Shepherd show? I think it was called the Cybill Shepherd show or maybe just "Cybill", can't remember. I used to love it, she had *name escapes me* Big Broadway star? Umm, Marilyn? Whatever, the two of them were hysterical. Marilyn? was this very bitter, wealthy, hard drinking divorcee who was dedicated to torturing her ex husband and Cybill was a happy self discovering divorcee who was still friends with her ex husband. She had a very cynical, hysterically funny daughter as I recall, who was always mocking her efforts at enthusiasm but Cybill remained happy and kept trying to grow. Hmmm...wonder why I'm attracted to this now? JK?
Anyway, some of the funniest shows were when Cybill was going through menopause. It may have been the first show that really let you see what women go through during the "change". Digression: I love that word, "the change". It's like Duh--are there any parts of our life when we are not going through a change? That's just called everyday round here.... So when Cybill began to realize that she was well into the change, she decided that she should celebrate it and commemorate it the way the Native Americans did. She went into the desert with her friend MARYANNE! and they sat around a fire and chanted and called to the great Crone spirits and she rejoiced about her becoming a Crone.
Now, of course, all the people in her life thought she was nuts. Who would want to be a Crone? Images of old ugly wart nose witches come to mind. But she understood that Crone was not about what you look like--no one can hold on to the beauty of youth forever. Crone was something inside, it's the wisdom that you receive when you stop all the running around, all the worrying about what you look like, when you realize that you are a Goddess and that the inner beauty is what is important, the wisdom of experience that can be seen in the crow's feet around your eyes.
To be a woman is a very special thing. We go from being nurtured to being the nurturer and back again. We get to fully use our bodies, for strength, for joy, for pleasure, for birth, for food, for nurturing, for expression. We can be soft and hard at the same time. It's an amazing experience. Crone is the ultimate expression of that experience. To be mothered and then to mother and then become the Great Mother, the one who knows all is a marvelous thing. I have always been willing to embrace this Crone image. And yes, people think I'm nuts.
Now, I know I'm not really even half way there but I really want to be aware during the journey...I want to enjoy each part and not dread the next one. I am looking forward to Crone. And truth be told, I have some incredible examples of aging beautifully in my life. I just won't call them Crone, they may not like it LOL! Here's my next card, which celebrates the Crone:
I am One who embraces the transformation of full flowering to autumn. I am one who sees the beauty of women as they journey to the Goddess wisdom of Crone.
