Light Up With Age Esteem!
While watching fireworks in the night
(Like jewelry in the sky)
I think “Oh, what a lovely sight:
Those sparkling fireflies.”
You, too, can be aglow in Life
And shine, crackle and gleam;
Just rid yourself of any strife,
Light up with Age Esteem!
Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®
It’s Hard To Write A Poem
When you find yourself in Paradise
It’s hard to write a poem,
Where life is new and oh so nice
And very far from home!
To think in terms of making rhymes
Would turn you back to palms
And blooming jasmine climbing vines
Or when the ocean’s calm.
But there’s poetry in silence,
And symmetry in trees,
One can just walk in cadence
When you are overseas!
Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®
Do Not Think About The Past
“I do not think about the Past –
I had one but it didn’t last!”
Those words were said by Ogden Nash –
His poems all had a lot of dash!
They lasted ‘til our present times,
Every one with clever rhymes.
Our Past is past, so now we can
Concentrate on a Present plan
Of how to Age with great aplomb,
And Esteem ourselves for what’s to come!
Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®
Esteem At Every Age
LIFE is a little like these rhymes:
It doesn’t “jingle” all the time!
You need to stop and try to find
The LYRICAL within your mind.
POETRY is a way to say
“Ah ha”, there is another way
For making every age to seem
So VERSEatile and so esteemed!
Start with A and go to E
It really works…just try and see!
Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®
Aging Has Changed
A long time ago
Or so it does seem,
We endured growing old
But without AgeEsteem.
We drooped and we sagged
With the burden of Time,
We stooped and we dragged
With heedless decline.
But now all has changed,
Our future is bright!
Our age is arranged
By the Esteem in sight!
We can face every day
With delight, NOT dismay,
And I hasten to say:
Two New Hips and Hooray!
Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®
Happy International Women’s Day 2014
On this International Women’s Day, I would like to celebrate all of the women, and men, who have forged the path for women today. Without the courage and persistence of those who have gone before us, we would not have the opportunities that we do.
One of the most moving moments for me as a member of the Geneva City Council was in 1999. That was the year that Ruth Dreifuss was elected as the first woman President of Switzerland.
Tradition called for her first stop as President to be a visit to her home canton (state), which is Geneva, and to parade through the town with the local politicians so the citizens could welcome her. It was already special to accompany the first woman president of the country, but what truly moved me were the masses of women lining the streets. Many were waving white handkerchiefs and had tears in their eyes or were openly sobbing with joy as they welcomed her.
President Ruth Dreifuss represented a major step in what these women had fought for both covertly and overtly over the years. These suffragettes were women who had succeeded in having their voices count as votes and to be elected to government! This was a day of rejoicing.
Bonnie Fatio
Perfection
How do you describe perfection?
Perfect weather, place and mood?
It’s a kind of resurrection
From a tendency to brood!
Every day should be better
Than the one that went before;
Send yourself a mental letter,
Stamp your mind with joy galore!
Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®
Martin Luther King 2014
And along came Martin Luther King
The one whom to the whole world would bring:
Courage and hope and his ultimate dream:
Singular, spectacular, ageless esteem.
King had dreams and he knew
They really can come true
Depending on YOU.
Now’s the time: start anew!
Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®
Happy Alone
I have a small magnet “poem”
On the wall of my kitchen:
“To be happy at home
Is the ultimate ambition!”
The message relayed is to be happy alone
Even if your family and friends have all gone.
Life is so filled with activities:
Holidays, Birthday, Festivities…
But they only play just a part of the goal,
The best thing to turn to is your inner soul!
Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®
A RETURN TO LOVE by Marianne Williamson hangs framed on my wall to remind me of my own commitment to shine unabashedly at every age. You will recognize its influence within this Age Esteem Prayer of Thanksgiving.
An Age Esteem Prayer Of Thanksgiving
Dear God, Spirit of Life,
We thank you for the blessings of the enlightened voices you have given us and the experience, talents and wisdom that have grown us into who we are today.
We know that we each have a unique power within us to manifest our light. – That we are powerful beyond measure. We were indeed born to manifest the glory that is within us and to share our voices abundantly.
We are grateful for the freedom to let our lights shine unconsciously as a beacon to others so that they, too, might break through their own barriers of fear and self-consciousness.
Be with each person as she and he steps into her own power of voice and “being” her authentic self, filled with love, laughter, gratitude and commitment to test her voice in new ways as a gift to the world.
Guide us to wash away our fears and self-imposed limits in our thinking and actions.
Shower your blessings upon us as we ripen and mature knowing that the definition of aging and elders depends on how WE choose to live and the examples that we become for generations to follow.
And so it is. Amen.
Written for my interview on Using Your Authentic Voice to Transform the World.
Bonnie Fatio
