Rabbi Schachter-Shalomi teaches that elderhood calls us into an expanded consciousness, a season of harvesting the fullness of our lives. This vision resonates deeply with me.
I believe in what I call the “fourth brain” — an awareness beyond mind, body, and emotions, a consciousness of consciousness itself. I first wrote about this idea when I began my studies at Sofia University, and I know that if I returned to that paper today it would be richer, deeper, more seasoned. Time has that effect. It shapes us the way the seasons shape the land, until we begin to recognize more clearly what was planted within us all along.
Cultivating Peace Profond
For me, harvesting our lives is about cultivating the capacity for peace profond — the ability to rest in awareness itself, to know we can live intentionally from this fourth knowing.
In elderhood, this is not abstraction but daily practice: being mindful, grateful for the breath, body, and choices that shape each moment. We are only ever in the moment we are in, and each moment seeds the next.
If this is true, why not live each moment with intention — sowing what we most wish to reap, and reaping only what we have truly sown?
Lessons as Harvest
This means exactly what we have sown — no sugar-coating. That understanding helped me survive and grow in the harsh learning atmospheres I once created. I learned to see them not as punishments but as lessons, as invitations to grow forward.
What we create is where we are going — where we are growing. When we have a firm place to stand in our belief systems, this harvest is delightful; without it, the path can feel dark and fearful.
I know, because I have lived in both places. And I know now that the middle — the place where lessons meet grace — is the harvest. I feel this truth in my very stomach.
Choosing What to Harvest
So I ask myself: what do I want to harvest?
The answer is simple: love.
I set the net of my journey low because I already have what I need. My days are filled with creating, writing, serving, and tending. There is always room for growth if I choose it, but at this stage of life, I am content to prepare my body and soul for the long winter of elderhood, however long that season may be.
I am content. I have what I need. I love deeply. And every day, I try to become a better version of that love.
🌿 A Final Thought
To me, that is harvest enough.
But I wonder, dear reader: what seeds are you planting now, and what harvest do you long to gather when the season turns?
With grace and presence,
Kellie J. Wright
💫 If you resonate with my work, I’d love to stay connected:
- 🌿 Follow my reflections on my blog: kelliejwright.com
- 🎙 Listen to my podcast: From Light to Christ
- 📖 And stay tuned — my first novella, The Golden Road Home, is coming soon!