Guest Articles

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By Joy in a post on one of my favorite sites, Comfort Queens

I just picked up some books this weekend on women entering
                     their third stage, the history of Crones, and how this is the time in life we begin the
                     inner journey to explore ourselves and our wisdom and spirituality. I'll share some of
                     the things I discover in the Cherishing the Queen topic.

                     One thing interesting is that this used to be a very revered time, because it was only
                     the elders who could orally pass down history and wisdom. However, the printing
                     press began to change that, and as time has progressed through radio, TV, and
                     now the Internet, information is so available at every age that the main role of the
                     crone was eradicated.

                     There have been some recent changes, though, because of the Baby Boomers
                     hitting their 50's. For the first time in history, a major section of the population is
                     "older" and the biggest reflection of this is in marketing. Suddenly there are shiny
                     ads for enhancing your "silver" hair instead of covering it up - one company has 9
                     shades and their ads are in mainstream magazines. More research for medical
                     remedies of "older" complaints is blossoming. Retirement and assisted living
                     residences are sprouting up all over. HMO's are under the gun to allow alternative
                     medical treatment, because this age group was the first one interested in
                     "alternatives" with a large enough poplulation base to pay for it. The interest in
                     Social Security and Medicare has never been so intense. There's power in numbers,
                     and our volume is high. So, altho we may no longer rule around the fire ring of
                     previous centuries, neither are we relegated to the corner to be useless. We've got a
                     longer lifespan and better health to enjoy it.

                     The challenge on a personal level, as our interests and responsibilities change, is to
                     maintain our health and figure out where we want to refocus our energies. That's the
                     part we're all working on, and it's so great to have our own "support system" here.
                     Some days I'm feeling really on top of it, and then there are those other days.....