Mantras & Wo-mantras: Tango-ing, Not Tangling
Volume: Breath in, breath out, slowly.
Issue: Peace Out! Or Peace INSIDE!
Date: July 1, 2022
Life is short. Break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.—Audrey Hepburn
Mantras & Wo-mantras: Tango-ing, Not Tangling
When the world seems to have gone totally batshit crazy, what’s a Boomer Babe or Boomer Buddy to do? When the talk of WWIII brings back childhood memories of “Duck and Cover” drills under our school desks, when the Alphabet Soup of Covid Variants leaves a horrible taste in our mouths (if Omicron hasn’t destroyed all taste buds!), and when some of our BFFs are strangely on the WRONG SIDE of politics, what in the world is left to help us feel in control?
’Tis true that a tango on the inside can relieve us of the tangle on the outside. Mind our mind control. Choose to shmooze with our inner world. Be our own Inner Yoda-Dr. Spock combo: “May the Force Be with Us” as we engage our thoughts to help us “Live long and prosper.”
Here are some lyrics for the music of our inner tango.
Sometimes “good enough” is good enough. Let’s be realistic here—we may be perfect, but our Boomer Partner and our Precious Old Dames will never be perfect, even with our skill and talent. Sometimes that white knight in shining armor needs to be appreciated for the muddy knight in slightly tarnished, battle-weary armor that he is. Lower the bar on those friendship expectations and find an open air sports bar so that a smooth drink can help smooth your differences.
Don’t hate. Cut bait. When things start to smell fishy, cut bait and run. Better to exit a fight and leave the room so that it is easier to patch things up later and not have to apologize for the #&*@ said. It takes two to tangle.
“Shake it off.” This is brilliant wisdom from pop star Taylor Swift. Life is short. Tempers don’t have to be.
Junk the judgment. Try to accept this aging man as is. In all his glory or vainglory, dirty underwear and bumbling apologies. Only Boomer Chicks are perfect. Obviously.
Be humble about our fumble. Everyone makes mistakes. Admit the fumble. To quote Miss Piggy, “Who, moi?” Humble pie can be hard to make (who ever did get the knack of homemade pie crust?), but it has a sweet aftertaste.
Don’t clam-up, speak up! Don’t harbor those inner feelings too long or they get rancid and come out as nastygrams. It’s OK, Boomers, to speak up!
Be sweet, don’t compete. The conflict with your Significant Other to see who’s on top should only take place in the bedroom.
Rise above the storm and ride the inner wave of laughter. Just how funny is it to be fighting or worrying about THIS?!!
Ask Yourself: “Why Not?” Maybe, just maybe, there is another viable option for this power struggle. Loosen up? Try a new dance step in this tango!
“OH!” instead of “NO!” “No” can put up a wall and maybe we don’t need a wall here, but some common open ground. Instead, put up an “OH!” invitation. Then just wait, be patient, and see what unfolds.
“That is an interesting point of view.” No commitment and no decision gives an aging brain time to think and feel.
Get out our Dolly umbrella! As Dolly Parton says, “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain!”
Don’t let anyone steal our joy! We are good people. We are love-able. We can’t control everything—or anything—EXCEPT…we can choose to be happy.
So let’s tune out that real-world din, sway our hips to our own rhythm, choose our inner lyrics, and continue tango-ing to the beat of our own hearts!
Irene