Remember those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books? The ones where you’d read several pages, then you got to decide: turn to page 42 if you open the mysterious door, or turn to page 67 if you take a sharp left and run as fast as you can. I enjoyed those books, not because of how well written they were or the exciting plot — half of them didn’t have one — but because I loved the feeling I had making my own choice. There was no single way, but many versions of an ending, and I got to choose. I think friendships should work the same way. Where we get…
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The Adventurer in You: 5 Life Lessons from a Lifetime of Travel
“The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for a newer and richer experience.” – Eleanor Roosevelt It’s that time of year when I start gathering ideas, researching destinations, and scheduling trips we want to take this year. So far, I have a Croatia boat cruise booked, several days in the Sonoma wine country, and a few other possibilities simmering. Trip planning is one of my genuine joys in life—anticipation alone is half the fun. My love of travel has deep roots. At 17, I was an AFS foreign exchange student and lived in Brazil.…
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Multi-faceted: Nine Ways to Shine
Endings and New Beginnings Have you experienced a major life change in recent years? If you’re over fifty, chances are your life has shifted in several significant ways. Many overwhelming endings and life changes happen in midlife and later years. Marriages end or begin, children leave home (or return), parents’ age and often require care, careers end or new ones begin, friendships evolve, and so much more. 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 and look forward, or we resist the ending and look backward, the choice is ours. We cannot always…