MUSINGS FROM MIDLIFE
My Stories
Superwoman has Resigned
Life can become very busy, especially in a society where occupied time is valued as achievement. The busier you are the, the more you must be kicking goals, no matter the personal cost. I love the saying "stop the glorification of busy" it has started me slowing my life down, on purpose.
Not such an easy task with four children, studying a Masters full time, running a small business amongst the usual array of commitments, responsibilities, life happenings and celebrations. However, I was determined to start enjoying life at a pace that had me in the moment, not crossing things off my list and rushing to the next thing. Where is the serenity in that?
I have found gentle ways to move into a life more considered.
Being Loved the Whole Way Through
A while ago, I was camping by the river with my family and friends out of phone range in a hard to reach and quiet, mostly unknown spot. Just nature and us. I fell into a deep sleep, you know only the ones you can have when you are off the grid, and when I awoke in the morning I recalled a vivid dream.
As I sat and contemplated this in the early morning by the river, I realised it was not a dream, but rather a visitation from my friend and mentor. He appeared, standing at my feet, and he said "I am going into palliative care, I am dying and I have come to say goodbye my friend."
That certainly jolted my heart.
Facing Buggery
Travel. Make memories. Have adventures. Because I guarantee that when you’re 85 and on your death bed you won’t think about that flashy car you bought, or the twenty pairs of designer shoes you owned. But you will think about that time you got lost in your favourite city. The nights spent falling in love under the stars and all the people you met along the way. You’ll think of the moments that made you feel truly alive. And at the very end, those memories will be the only valuable possessions you own. EKP
"Try something different. Surrender." Rumi
Granite peaks, sharp ridges and exposed trails, well that grabbed my attention.
The Journey
One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice — though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles. “Mend my life!” each voice cried. But you did not stop. You knew what you had to do, though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations, though their melancholy was terrible. It was already late enough, and a wild night, and the road full of fallen branches and stones. But little by little as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice which you slowly recognised as your own, that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world, determined to do the only thing you could do — determined to save the only life you could save.