After all I’ve been through, and speaking from the perspective of one who is well into her second midlife crisis (at least!), I realized today: What could be more natural than stopping in midlife to seriously consider where I’ve been and where I hope to go next.
An elder friend of mine said to me yesterday that the best thing you can do for yourself at some point is to forget about your past and begin living for today. I completely agree, but I have found it useful and necessary to first stop and consider how all that I have experienced in this lifetime has made me what I am today.
Imagine all the relationships you have been through and all you have learned from them. All the good and not so good jobs with the many, varying bosses and coworkers. All the positive things that have happened to you and the misfortunes. This myriad experience is your life and this is how we learn.
I believe the greatest advantage there is to considering my past is to see what worked and what didn’t. I made a list the other day of “What works for me” because I want to quit fighting with life, trying to make myself do things that don’t work for me. I want to start going with the flow more successfully.
Here are a few things I have found work for me:
Only spending time with those that honor and respect me
Exercise and healthy eating
Balancing the needs of my mind, body and spirit
Asking for help, love and support when I’m in need
Writing about what is important is me
Taking good care of myself
Asking for EXACTLY what I want!
I am searching once again for a kind of right livelihood that comes naturally, something I enjoy and feel useful doing in the world. I am tired of the constant struggles and stress involved in selling my writing. Marketing feels ugly to me and absolutely not who I am.
I am a cultural creative who struggles with her culture.
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I’m glad he took responsibility, but it’s hard to have compassion for him because I think about the pain his wife and family are experiencing. But, at the end… we’re all human capable of causing pain to others. I just pray that there will be healing for everyone involved.