A Living Work of Art.

To know how to grow old is the master work of wisdom, and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living.  

— Henri Frederic Amiel

Hadassah Baskin is the woman who set me on this journey, inspiring in me a deep curiosity about the stories of wise elders.

We would sit together for hours in her living room talking about things she rarely spoke to anyone about...cool things like spirituality and mysticism. She confessed that she wanted  to believe but wasn't quite certain.

Throughout her life, she wrote poignant poetry and personal letters, notable for her finely crafted handwriting. She was an artist in the way she lived, dressed and expressed herself.

Born in 1901, she grew up in an immigrant Jewish household. As the eldest daughter of  six children, when her parents died prematurely, she took on the responsibility for caring for and helping to educate her siblings...all of whom went to college.

After she married her husband Sam, a prominent attorney, she became a pioneer for progressive politics, social justice and education.  She was acquainted with many prominent people from Eleanor Roosevelt to Barack Obama. 

As a young woman she had Grace Kelly beauty, but as she aged she became more beautiful. It was as if the light within shone more brightly with every passing year.  Hadassah experienced much suffering in her life, but she always focused on her blessings.

She was simply one of the most enlivened spirits I have ever known.

One morning when we were to meet, she came to the door in a most unusual fashion; with her freshly-washed hair in a towel. I begged her to let me see her hair down, not as she normally styled it in a braided bun. It flowed well beyond her knees, having rarely cut it or colored it.  

So this is what 92 looks like, I thought and set my sights on that as my vision for remaining forever young.

As the years passed, her body became weaker but spirit grew more bright.

She did not come downstairs as often, so she invited me to visit with her in her bedroom which I had never before seen.

I brought her flowers from the local farmers market, not realizing that they matched her bedroom wallpaper.  What synchronicity. Still beautiful but frail, I noticed the painting over her bed;  a portrait that a friend had painted fifty years before. She wore her hair in the same way and had barely aged.  I took a flower from the vase, put it in her hair and took this photo.

At age 96, she was a living masterpiece.

A question to sit with:
Who in your life inspires in you a sense of agelessness?
What qualities do you aspire to hold onto as you master the great art of living?