Within Each Ending is a New Beginning
So many overwhelming endings and life changes happened in my fortieth year. For starters, my marriage ended. We sold our house and my children and I moved to our new home in a nearby town. My dad died, and my career went into a new direction. If my life were a book, several chapters ended at once. As painful as these events were for me, looking back now I see them as beginnings of my new life. I was not alone. Endings were all around me——deaths, divorces, jobs, and changing relationships.
Fast forward two decades when I retired from a 35-plus year career. Hopefully, with about 25-30 years ahead of me, I want to learn, do, and embrace these years ahead.
Every ending is different, yet they all have one thing in common. They are all followed by new beginnings. Whether we consciously decide what’s next for us and take advantage of the opportunity to look forward, or we try to resist this ending, or spend precious time looking backwards, it’s our choice.
When change happens in your life, do you resist or look forward? The choice is yours!
Our Bonus Years: The Gift of Time
Aggie, a very close friend, died unexpectedly at age 58, not long ago. I was grief-stricken and shocked by her death at such a young age. I realized how precarious life and death are and how lucky I am to wake up each morning to a new day of possibilities. With a sense of gratitude, I consider this time in life my bonus years.
In 1900, life expectancy was only 40 years. Today, it is over 80 years, with many more of us living well into our nineties and into our 100’s. Most of us are ill-prepared for these decades and their challenges and opportunities. For years, the study and observation of human behavior has fascinated me. And this time in life is no exception.
Most women agree these later years can be richly rewarding, multi-faceted, and at times challenging. Do you agree?
Introducing the Nine Facets
Each of us has our own personal life journey made up of various roles and energies blended, defining who we are and how we live. I’ve highlighted nine unique energies we can tap to enable us to live brighter, more fulfilled lives.
Each Facet represents some aspect within each of us. Parts of ourselves there once upon a time, buried by life as we worked, cared for others, and focused on the stuff of life. They can be uncovered, rediscovered, and polished to allow our light to shine through in new, vibrant ways. These energies help us explore and create new endeavors we never considered for ourselves, bringing something into our life. Each facet offers us new and varied opportunities to learn, develop, and brighten the world in new ways.
Midlife is the perfect time to explore these aspects, both within and outside ourselves. Now is the perfect time to begin and create a fabulous rest and best second half of life.
A Diamond as Metaphor
A diamond is a fascinatingly beautiful, individually varied gem. Like a diamond, we are unique, a creation of this moment in time. Diamonds and women reflect the light of the world, and shine with their own brightness and clarity.
The word diamond comes from the Greek word “adamas,” which means invincible or indestructible. Diamonds are believed to protect the wearer from danger, give them strength and courage, as well as contain healing properties.
Diamonds exemplify the many facets we women have in our lives through which our light may shine. Over time in life, we lose parts of ourselves. Finding long buried interests and passions we once had to bring more light, brightness and pleasure into our lives.
Isn’t it time you rediscovered facets within yourself?
This is the first of a three-part series to encourage you to consider a variety of ways to enrich your life.
Here are the Nine Facets and brief description of each.
Adventurer: Exploring
Seeker of new places and experiences near and far.
Curious about the surrounding world.
May love travel and exploring her world, far away and local.
Enjoys diverse cuisines, cultures, and countries.
Rarely routine, often spontaneous and flexible with time and experiences.
Variety intrigues her.
Artisan: Creating
Taps into her own medium of creation and unlimited imagination
Brings new and unique into the world.
Endless creative outlets: writing, art, sewing, glass blowing, jewelry, interior design, or photography to name a few.
Gets in the flow of the creation process, tapping her well of ideas and inspiration.
Athlete: Moving
Appreciates moving confidently in the physical world.
For body and mind, strengthens, improves flexibility, stamina, and improves balance.
May challenge herself in a variety of ways. Running, sky-diving, hiking, yoga, to achieve new levels of fitness.
She values physical movement and recognizes the value to her health.
It’s about the fun and play
The next blog post on three more facets…..
