" Embracing The New Midlife.................."

Embracing the New Midlife……
( Mon, October 20, 2008 - 7:57 PM)



In our ability to rethink our lives lies our greatest power to change them. What we have called "middle age" need not be seen as a turning point toward death. It can be viewed as a magical turning point toward life as we've never known it, if we allow ourselves the power of an independent imagination-thought-forms that don't flow in a perfunctory manner from ancient assumptions merely handed down to us, but rather flower into new archetypal images of a humanity just getting started at 45 or 50.

What we've learned by that time, from both our failures as well as our successes, tends to have humbled us into purity. When we were young, we had energy but we were clueless about what to do with it. Today, we have less energy, perhaps, but we have far more understanding of what each breath of life is for. And now at last, we have a destiny to fulfill-not a destiny of a life that's simply over, but rather a destiny of a life that is finally truly lived.

Midlife is not a crisis; it's a time of rebirth. It's a time to accept your life-and to finally, truly live it, as you and you alone know deep in your heart it was meant to be lived.
Midlife is what you create. We are not too old to change, if anything, with age comes knowledge.

Midlife is another stage of life and should be celebrated as such--not unlike the transition from childhood into teenager. Likewise, we need to celebrate our transition into midlife, if we don't, we risk a midlife crisis, most often manifested as depression in women. 'Now is the time to burst forth into your greatness--a greatness you could never have achieved without going through exactly the things you've gone through.'

It's our perception of middle age that counts --not the old stereotypes. Midlife is like second chance. We learn who we are and know what we want. Midlife is the time to allow whatever it is into our lives.

The Second Chance. All of us want to believe that we can change what we don't like about ourselves, that we can recover from past mistakes and bad breaks. If we're fortunate, we discover that all we need to become someone other than what we are resides inside us, in the beautiful, mysterious spirit. 'It's time to re-enchant ourselves,'

As we grow older, it's natural, if we still feel anything at all, to feel more vulnerable. The good news is that this is really progress and not a falling down. We learn as we age to take a little more time, which can be taking greater care with everything. We listen better, and we're not as quick on the judgment draw. We're more compassionate, and more in synch with the universe's life-giving energy.