Books to Blogs #18
Book: One Question A Day for Positivity
Date: March 2, 2026
Prompt: “One benefit of getting older is…”
My answer came quickly:
Wisdom.
Not the kind that arrives automatically with more candles on a cake.
The kind that comes from living.
March 2nd holds two observances that feel surprisingly connected: National Old Stuff Day and National Read Across America Day, often celebrated as Dr. Seuss Day.
National Old Stuff Day encourages us to approach things with a new attitude.
Look at something from a different perspective.
Consider alternatives.
Relearn what we think we already know.
Take something old and freshen it up.
That, to me, is wisdom.
One benefit of getting older is that I can revisit what I once labeled as “mistakes” and see something different now.
I see growth.
I see timing.
I see someone doing the best she could with the information she had at the time.
When I was younger, I believed wisdom meant certainty. I thought it meant never second-guessing myself. I imagined wise people as steady and unshakable.
Now I understand wisdom is quieter than that.
Wisdom is pattern recognition.
It’s pausing before reacting.
It’s recognizing familiar dynamics sooner.
It’s trusting intuition more quickly.
It’s being willing to revisit “old stuff” — not to relive it, but to reinterpret it.
As I look at the bookshelf in my session room — titles worn, stacked, revisited — I’m reminded that wisdom isn’t collected all at once, it’s accumulated one lesson at a time.
Instead of throwing out my past, I can freshen it up. Reframe it. Learn from it.
And then there’s Dr. Seuss.
Two of my favorites have always been The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham.
The Cat brings disruption — a reminder that sometimes a little chaos shakes us awake.
And in Green Eggs and Ham, there’s that famous resistance:
“I do not like them…”
Until he tries them.
How many things in life have we said we would never do?
Never try?
Never become?
And yet, time has a way of softening rigidity.
Wisdom doesn’t mean abandoning discernment. It means refining it.
It allows us to ask:
Is there a better or equal alternative?
Is there another way to see this?
What if I relearned this all over again?
One benefit of getting older is that I no longer need every decision to be perfect. I don’t spiral the way I once did. I don’t define myself by one moment.
Instead of asking, “Why did I do that?”
I ask, “What did that teach me?”
Instead of reacting immediately, I witness.
And witnessing creates space.
Old doesn’t mean obsolete.
It means experienced.
It means layered.
It means there is depth there — if we’re willing to look again.
Maybe getting older isn’t about decline.
Maybe it’s about refinement.
Maybe it’s about rereading your own story with wiser eyes.
And maybe — just maybe — we discover we actually like the green eggs.
Reflection Prompts
As you think about your own “old stuff,” consider:
- What past decision have you labeled a mistake that might deserve a new interpretation?
• Where in your life could a fresh perspective change the meaning of an old story?
• What belief about yourself might be ready to be relearned?
• What is something you once resisted… that you now understand differently?
• If wisdom is pattern recognition, what patterns are you noticing more clearly now?
Getting older isn’t just about adding years.
It’s about adding insight.
And that may be one of the greatest benefits of all.
Theresa
Flexible Being
Empowering Your Journey to Healing, Clarity, and Self-Discovery.
Concrete solutions. Flexible guidance.
Thank you for being here. If you enjoyed this post, there’s plenty more where that came from, everything from soulful healing tips to playful prompts and real conversations about life.
Find me and connect today. I want to learn about your story:
Email: theresa@flexiblebeing.com
Website: www.flexiblebeing.com
Instagram:
@theresamartinezshapiro
@flexiblebeing
Theresa Martinez-Shapiro
Hello! I am Theresa Martinez-Shapiro; Wife to Robert. Founder of Flexible Being. A Master Reiki Therapist, Certified Oracle Guide, Spiritual Mentor/Guide, Intuitive Empath, Coach, and Educator. I am a fur mom to 3 cats and 1 dog – Sonny, Patches, Ryelee, and Winnie. We currently live and practice in Stockton, California. We operate three businesses – Shapiro Holistic Health and Chiropractic, Fusion Health APC, and Synergy Health MSO, where we seek to improve and change the lives of our patients and those we have the privilege of crossing paths with. My healing and mentoring journey began around 5 years old when I discovered that I was put on this planet to help others. I knew I was different, unique, and gifted. I did not see the world the same way everyone else did, and recognized I was meant to do so much more. I began to research, spending a lot of time reading & asking a lot of questions to anyone that wanted to share stories about their life experiences. I am a dreamer and had a unique relationship with the dream world. My very real, vivid & lucid dreams began turning into out-of-body experiences and unexplained occurrences. I began doing my own dream interpretations to look for patterns & a new way of deciphering life. Family members were part of many different religions, so I was educated in Catholicism, Buddhism, Metaphysics, and Native American culture & beliefs. Along the way, I took up multiple mentors that cultivated my growth and expansion of my gifts, allowing me to focus on my potential and purpose. As an adult, coworkers were unloading their life stories, internal secrets, and things that had not been shared or even spoken out loud. I began to share those experiences with my aunt & Reiki Master/Teacher, Carmen. In 2012, Carmen told me, “I think you are ready to walk the path I always knew you were meant to walk”. That saying began my obsessive journey into Reiki, Spirituality, Psychology, Intuition and Psychic gifts, Meditation and Mindfulness, Past Lives, Consciousness, Energy Medicine, Mysteries of the Universe, Moon and Sun cycles, Astrology, Numerology, Oracle Cards, Shamanism, & so much more. My journey has helped me to assist patients, clients, families, and friends discover who they have been, who they are, and who they want to become. I am expanding my reach and educating others by authoring Musings of a Flexible Being, and I look forward to sharing my journey with you. Thank you! Theresa Martinez-Shapiro Flexible Being Website: www.flexiblebeing.com Socials: Facebook: @flexiblebeingonline Instagram:@theresamartinezshapiro Instagram: @flexiblebeing
