“Thoroughly unprepared, we take the step into the afternoon of life; worse still, we take this step with the false presupposition that our truths and ideals will serve us as hitherto. But we cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of life’s morning – for what was great in the morning will be little at evening, and what in the morning was true will at evening have become a lie.” ~Carl Jung
I love this quote. It so aptly describes what I and so many of my friends are going through lately. We are all re-assessing our lives. I have found that what was once important – in some cases – is no longer so. And, in other cases, it has become important again. Since the dawn of my midlife transition, I am becoming more of myself and more of who I always knew I was to be.
What does that mean? For me, it is an end of the ‘accomplishment’ syndrome. I believe I already have all the degrees I’ll ever need, and all the credentials and then some. So many people, before they reach midlife, feel like something is missing. For some, it takes the form of getting the degree they once put off. But, once they get it, they realize that it wasn’t the degree that they needed for ‘credential-ing’, it was more a sense of their own worth and value, with or without that degree. The midlife transition provides an opportunity to really test what we think is important. For many, there is a new emergence of spirituality. But, midlife spirituality is not our mother’s religion! If one has successfully gone through the transition, it becomes an opportunity to discover what you believed all along.
I’ve done a lot of work on my spirituality – way before midlife, and have even done my fair share of the intellectual growth that so many put off, so for me the work is a bit different. I wonder if YOU share it too? My work is learning to live in this body and in this world. The physical aspects of life were never that important to me. As I age, they are becoming more so and I’m noticing that having physical energy is the first step in living the life I choose.
For today, I’m learning to live in the now. I’ve moved from Ambition to Meaning. In the days ahead, I’ll be exploring that a lot more – and would love to hear your musings as well..
Dr. Toni
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