Aging with Grace

From the Tarot of the Crone, the Ten of Disks; from Transforming Dragons, 'Tilibruc:'

My world may be smaller. My soul is not.

          This Crone's body is shrunken with age, yet the passion in her mind and heart have only grown larger. I feel pain now when I get up every morning; I know that growing older is not something from which I can hide. But I've cultivated friendships with older women, and they've graciously shared their wisdom in walking this road. First, my face may get more wrinkled, but it isn't required of my heart. I can continue to search out the small joys of each day. I can encourage others and show them compassion when they struggle. Second, while my body can't do the physical tasks it once could, my mind and the creativity it holds is still hanging in there. No sense wasting precious resources. The dragon Tilibruc is like one of those people who always say, "Put a rush on that!" There is no sitting still as he is always ready to finish one task and get on with the next. I doubt he gets any joy from the 'doing' part, and probably pays little attention to the end result. I'd guess there are fears he is trying (unsuccessfully) to outrun. I want to ask him to sit still, look back and consider whether all his busyness actually fills up the emptiness in his heart. Regardless of what I've accomplished, a full heart will tell me that it's been a good day.