About Sally, Founder of Ageing Gratefully
Hello, thank you for visiting! I’m Sally, a 57-year-old working, single mum with two young adult children and Founder of Ageing Gratefully.
I have been blessed with a life full of love… I was born and raised in the beautiful South West of England into a family with loving parents, two siblings and a host of uncles, aunts and cousins. We lived nestled amongst a big, joyful, bustling community of family members.
There was only one blip in my glorious upbringing. My loving parents, who were poorly educated, wanted their children to have the best education they could afford and one they hadn’t had. As we lived in the middle of the countryside, this decision meant an education at boarding school. At the time I felt the rejection keenly and missed my family deeply. It is only with hindsight that I recognise the sacrifice my parents made to send us away. The wonderful thing with choosing to concentrate on this is that now my focus is on experiencing a loving childhood and I am grateful to my parents for wanting what they believed was best for me.
More love flowed into my life when I met my soul mate early in life. We married at 20 years old and we began our adventure together by moving to Western Australia. When we were blessed with two beautiful children, even more, love was created in my heart. My life was favoured and I learned gratitude early on. As I mentioned earlier, I have been blessed with a life full of love.
When we were blessed with two beautiful children, even more, love was created in my heart.
In 2009 my secure, blessed life took a dramatic turn. A tumour was discovered in my husband’s kidney. The kidney was removed, and recovery was the expected outcome. Only he didn’t. The whole episode of correct diagnosis, treatment and death took three weeks. My 27 years of marriage to the love of my life had come to an unanticipated, sudden end. It was the darkest time in my blessed life and of my two school-aged children.
Recovery from trauma takes time and is an individual process unique to each person. Grief is an emotion too deep to fully comprehend. I found myself experiencing emotions that were not natural for me – the envy of couples holding hands or embracing in public, and anger when anyone complained about their spouse. The deepest stab to my heart was seeing older couples together because I was never going to have that time in my life with my husband. He was gone.
It is from these depths that gratitude re-emerged.
It is from these depths that gratitude re-emerged. After being angry with God for dealing my children and me such a dud hand, faith began to appear again as droplets of gratitude for the love and support my family and friends provided me and my children, for living in a safe and stunning part of the world and for great health and opportunities.
I also began to notice the negativity attached to the way some people discuss the years ahead, dreading growing old. I thought my husband would love to be here growing older, watching his children grow up. This is where my determination was born to encourage the concept of ageing gratefully. Knowing ageing is a natural part of life, I discovered that gaining a grateful heart sets us free to truly embrace and joyfully be present in each moment.
None of us knows how many moments we will have. I want to encourage everyone to live gratefully and experience the vitality and joy living in the moment brings. Perhaps I am looking for a reason for my husband’s premature death, but I feel a deep longing to share how I have been able to move from a place of complete desolation to one of gratitude, peace and joy. How I have not only survived but am now thriving, despite carrying a sense of loss that I instinctively feel I will never entirely lose.
Though my heart is scarred, I have learned to accept this indelible wound. More importantly, I have discovered principles, methods and simple techniques that have enabled me to move into a full and happy life. I’ve discovered how to experience a fulfilling joy that is secure and can’t be stolen away by life’s ever-changing circumstances. I’m now convinced that if I can replace circumstantial unhappiness with a permanent joy, then anyone can.
Together I will share the principles and mindset that has worked for me and I’m so excited you’re here joining me on this journey to ageing gratefully.
