Navigating the Web of Life to Begin Again
Having arrived at my “middle” years, I am often astounded when I catch a glimpse of myself in a store window or, God forbid, an actual mirror. I know many of us are startled by the reflection we see in the mirror of an aging face with a few wrinkles or sags. A friend recently shared that she has solved that problem of looking in the mirror - she simply takes off her glasses and everything looks blurry and beautiful.
But the question of, When did that happen? looms large.
The idea of starting over as a middle-aged woman is frightening to so many of us. I don’t have the same strong and healthy body. My mind processes things differently. (I refuse to say I may be forgetful. I just don’t need so many vocabulary words crowding my mind.) The culture bias is skewed toward young up-and-comers. Not middle-aged women.
Even though I see myself as credible, capable and youth-filled, others see an older woman. Perhaps I carry more inner wisdom and confidence than I did in my twenties or thirties. Perhaps I have learned from my mistakes, to transverse my personal karma, pried open my heart and my mind to view life as orchestrated by a loving and benevolent Higher Power. Perhaps everything does happen for a reason that only age and hindsight can give you. I certainly can see more of the miraculous in the world. In the beauty of the flowers that scent the air in spring or the gurgling giggle of an infant as they view their new world with wide eyes or in feeling the sun on my skin and the breeze in my hair. Life is full and vibrant with possibilities.
So here I am, ready to begin, yet again. I can bring the wisdom of my age and life experience to bear. I can find more humor in outlandish situations that use to irritate the hell out of me. I can sing to pop songs and feel sexy and twenty-something again. I can unravel the cultural idea that you are only productive and vibrant in the first half of your life.
Beginning again, I choose to allow my creative urges to be expressed. I choose to share my wisdom and light with whomever is in need. I choose to celebrate the second half of my life as a power-filled woman who understands what it is like to live in an open and vulnerable way that creates connections and radiates love out into the world. And so this is how I have joyfully chosen to navigate the web of life!
What will you choose?