Blogger: Dr. Sara Lederer

(Written in response to Bruce Whizin’s Jewel “From Above” which you can read HERE.)


How do we remain grounded, timeless, and hopeful throughout the aging process? Bruce shares with us an inspiring anecdote, and even more than that, somewhat of a map for aging gracefully, in the most spiritual sense.  Aging with ease requires making peace with our timelessness, with our soul that lives both on this Earth and stretches beyond, into the Heavens. To know oneself is to know who you are regardless of your riches, your successes, the resume you’ve built, the investments you’ve established, etc.  To know oneself is to know one’s soul, and that is our timeless being that lives within every cell of the body and stretches out beyond everything we know. To know oneself is to be grounded in what one knows and what one feels and what one experiences, and to also be at peace with what one does not know. What do you not know?

What we do know is this: the beating of our heart pulsing in our chest; the feeling of our soul, like when Bruce was a child out on the ocean and felt an intimacy with the slight breeze on his body; the way it feels to breathe in and out of our body. Our intimacy with ourself is filled with so many versatile things: the roadmap of broken hearts sustained; the feeling of falling asleep as melatonin sweeps over and envelopes our being; the way our bodies house emotions; the longing in hearts for dreams unmet; the calling from the Shofar to awaken our soul during the High Holy Days.  Throughout our life there is only one constant: ourself. What is your constellation made up of? Your heart, your body, your breath, your thoughts, your emotions, your investments, your accomplishments, your contributions; who are you? In our one precious life, in this simple and complex journey, this remains with you as a constant: your soul. “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life”? (Mary Oliver, 1992).


Dr. Sara Lederer is a licensed psychologist, working with clients in a private practice setting. She is also an Associate Professor at Antioch University and Part-time Faculty at Loyola Marymount.  Her website is www.drsaralederer.com