Anne Morrow Lindbergh On Relationship

In her book, "Gift From the Sea", Anne Morrow Lindbergh reflects on the seasons of life and love. As the sea gives up its gifts of beautiful shells, so does her mind bring up its treasures. She uses shells as symbols to describe the stages of life as each woman grows toward wholeness and fulfillment.

Just as I do in my book,"Becoming Soul Mates", she stresses the importance of filling up, nurturing your own soul. She puts it this way: "I want to be at peace with myself. I want a singleness of eye, a purity of intention, a central core to my life that will enable me to carry out my obligations and activities as well as I can."

I would go even farther. I need to be at peace with God and the significance of life--to know that I am a once in history event and that at every stage of life I am becoming who God created me. Interestingly, the stage of life I am now living is in many ways the hardest. I am painfully conscious that my time is limited and so many goals remain. At the same time losses occur more rapidly, less energy, less hearing, poorer eyesight, friends dying. Growing old takes courage, but wisdom increases.