Mirror, mirror, on the wall.....
Not long ago my declining eyesight made it necessary for me to purchase a 5x magnification mirror so that I could see clearer to put on my makeup. At first I was shocked at my reflection. Then on closer examination I realized, my God, my mother was staring back at me. That's when the full-scale self-pity started.
I have to admit I'm starting to get used to the old gal who faces me every morning now. She's lived life and yes, it shows in the laugh lines, crows feet and wrinkles but there's still a sparkle in her eyes and an inner power that grows stronger every day.
Alot has changed since I retired five months ago. It's really given me the opportunity to analyse who I am and what I want. Having time means everything. The frantic, crazy person who rushed out the door every morning and the one who came home tired, stressed, ranting and raving has made way for a much calmer person to emerge. Oh that "other" person still shows her ugly head once and awhile, but usually it's when her hormones dictate.
I think mid-life has really given me the opportunity to move in to my full power, where I found my true voice. It's the beauty of personal authenticity. But alot of people struggle at this crucial time in their lives. They not only feel old, they feel like life has passed them by. They remind themselves of all the opportunities they wasted and talents squandered. Or they sit around not knowing what to do with themselves, living in the past and worrying about the future.
The present is an on-going act of creation! The problem is too many people, young and old alike, look for satisfaction outside themselves, in other people or events from the past or what the future holds. People say, "if only things were different, I'd be happy". Well, I'm sure at some point in your youth you had the world at your feet and didn't realize it! You know what it was like? It was just like now!!
Mid-life is our second chance. No more time for detours or getting it wrong. No more time for relationships that don't work or staying in situations that don't serve you. You can spend the rest of your life re-enacting the drama of your past or finally put down that burden! Every moment is an opportunity to exhale old energies and break in new life; to exhale fear and inhale love.
This is not a time to give up and say, this is just who I am, it's too late to change. The challenge of age is not to skip life's disappointments but to learn from them, however painful. It is our destiny to face ourselves; to be shown all that is not healed in us. If you live in the past, you live with regrets that haunt you. You will never move on to a happy, successful life until you can face the demons in your past. Once you are free from the past, you are free of the victim.
Not long ago my declining eyesight made it necessary for me to purchase a 5x magnification mirror so that I could see clearer to put on my makeup. At first I was shocked at my reflection. Then on closer examination I realized, my God, my mother was staring back at me. That's when the full-scale self-pity started.
I have to admit I'm starting to get used to the old gal who faces me every morning now. She's lived life and yes, it shows in the laugh lines, crows feet and wrinkles but there's still a sparkle in her eyes and an inner power that grows stronger every day.
Alot has changed since I retired five months ago. It's really given me the opportunity to analyse who I am and what I want. Having time means everything. The frantic, crazy person who rushed out the door every morning and the one who came home tired, stressed, ranting and raving has made way for a much calmer person to emerge. Oh that "other" person still shows her ugly head once and awhile, but usually it's when her hormones dictate.
I think mid-life has really given me the opportunity to move in to my full power, where I found my true voice. It's the beauty of personal authenticity. But alot of people struggle at this crucial time in their lives. They not only feel old, they feel like life has passed them by. They remind themselves of all the opportunities they wasted and talents squandered. Or they sit around not knowing what to do with themselves, living in the past and worrying about the future.
The present is an on-going act of creation! The problem is too many people, young and old alike, look for satisfaction outside themselves, in other people or events from the past or what the future holds. People say, "if only things were different, I'd be happy". Well, I'm sure at some point in your youth you had the world at your feet and didn't realize it! You know what it was like? It was just like now!!
Mid-life is our second chance. No more time for detours or getting it wrong. No more time for relationships that don't work or staying in situations that don't serve you. You can spend the rest of your life re-enacting the drama of your past or finally put down that burden! Every moment is an opportunity to exhale old energies and break in new life; to exhale fear and inhale love.
This is not a time to give up and say, this is just who I am, it's too late to change. The challenge of age is not to skip life's disappointments but to learn from them, however painful. It is our destiny to face ourselves; to be shown all that is not healed in us. If you live in the past, you live with regrets that haunt you. You will never move on to a happy, successful life until you can face the demons in your past. Once you are free from the past, you are free of the victim.
So often, a large part of why we are stuck is because we're focused on what went wrong yesterday or today rather than on what we want. If you're stuck, odds are it's because you are primarily looking at what's wrong or not working. Little by little focus clearly on what you want and what step you can take today....right now...to move you closer to that place. Then repeat the process. Over and over, day by day.
I know my physical self is aging and some days it bothers me more than others. But I identify much more with my spiritual side and my experiences have begun to shift from limitation to limitless, from fear to love. I know what issues in my life need more attention. I learn new things about myself all the time, but more important I understand more deeply what I already know and I realize my state of doing must match my state of being.
The last thing you want to do is steel away more life from yourself by failing to be more deeply in it while it's happening. This moment is all you have, so why not live it to the fullest? No matter who you are, no matter how old, in the present, all things are possible!
I know my physical self is aging and some days it bothers me more than others. But I identify much more with my spiritual side and my experiences have begun to shift from limitation to limitless, from fear to love. I know what issues in my life need more attention. I learn new things about myself all the time, but more important I understand more deeply what I already know and I realize my state of doing must match my state of being.
The last thing you want to do is steel away more life from yourself by failing to be more deeply in it while it's happening. This moment is all you have, so why not live it to the fullest? No matter who you are, no matter how old, in the present, all things are possible!
We shall not cease from exploration
And at the end of all our exploring
will be to arrive where we started
and know the place for the first time
T.S. Eliot
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