That glam shot for which you paid way too high a price: I've been there, as I know many women have. And we are besieged by such images everywhere we look -- without the backstory of the pain that underlies them. I look at that photo and smile, thinking of the other photo you recently shared with your readers, the one of you happily lolling in a elephant mud wallow in Thailand.
That's wonderful. one totally contrived, one totally joyous. Give me a guy who wants the laughing dirty bird, right? Thanks so much Jan. Great call out.
Julia, this is a beautiful reflection on growing wiser, more open, more able to give ourselves grace. Thank you for the shout out. I still struggle with the "shawl of shoulds." That sucker is heavy! This line, will stay with me though: " in being lost, I was in the process of finding myself"
Ever since I read your piece describing crying after the molasses jar broke, I've been thinking about that moment. Omg there have been times.... yet in all that, there continues to be this ridiculous proof of life, proof of joy, proof of reason to have hope, and it inevitably springs from inside us. And just saying... I bought a set of doggy stairs for my bed...not just for me, but for the dog I REALLY want to rescue....
Thank you for the very kind words, Catherine. We all inspire each other.
"challenging old ideas and habits, questioning what I’m still grasping from my youth and finding new meaning in getting older."
I'm navigating some sort of midlife transition right now. Basically still doing the same things I've done for the past 2 decades, but my values are shifting and I'm pursuing different dreams that have become more fulfilling. To use a metaphor, its like being on the same trail but crossing a ridge and now the landscape is looking much different. Our experiences are quite different, Julia, but your writing is like blazes along this trail for me. Thank you!
Many thanks, Erik. I find that Nature is a fine place to carve that new path. I have already got several event set up this year to go adventure on rivers, and I CAN'T WAIT to see how those change me. To exploration!!!
This essay by @JULIA HUBBEL is one of the best on midlife that I've read. Julia has pointed out some "slap-in-the-face" truths that I have experienced through living the muddy transitions of midlife, such as:
"We wander into adulthood with a backpack loaded with trauma and assumptions and a load of crap. We often have no clue we’re carrying.
Right about the time we are birthed out of middle age into our late fifties to early sixties, we are suddenly dubbed elderly. Life is all over, right about the time we finally find ourselves. Or at least, start to find ourselves."
In my case, I've been going through the painful rebirth canal of midlife since the age of 50, and I'm still not out of it yet! I think the process was sped up by a series of extremely traumatic events, for which I am ultimately grateful.
I feel honored to be mentioned in this powerful essay. I love the lyricism in these sentences here: "...a recognition of loss tinged with great sadness, and a recognition of hope in every dawn tinged with joy."
Well Louisa, it's my turn to tear up. Thank you so very kindly. These essays aren't easy to read, and sometimes they are vastly harder to write. For if I'm willing to scrape truth out of my life, the danger is that will happen to others. It doesn't always go well, but when we are brave, as you've indicated here, the end product is a much stronger us.
Julia, it takes so much courage to live through the life transitions from midlife on, and to continue to challenge yourself to scrap the truth. By living and writing about this, you have shown the utmost courage. Yes, there is danger, but it's a good kind of danger. Whether a person chooses the risky path of finding out the truth of who they are, or stay in their comfortable bubble, determines how the "end product" is. You and I know what kind of "end product" we want for ourselves, and it has nothing to do with tiny waists or wrinkle-free faces ;-)
That glam shot for which you paid way too high a price: I've been there, as I know many women have. And we are besieged by such images everywhere we look -- without the backstory of the pain that underlies them. I look at that photo and smile, thinking of the other photo you recently shared with your readers, the one of you happily lolling in a elephant mud wallow in Thailand.
That's wonderful. one totally contrived, one totally joyous. Give me a guy who wants the laughing dirty bird, right? Thanks so much Jan. Great call out.
Julia, this is a beautiful reflection on growing wiser, more open, more able to give ourselves grace. Thank you for the shout out. I still struggle with the "shawl of shoulds." That sucker is heavy! This line, will stay with me though: " in being lost, I was in the process of finding myself"
Ever since I read your piece describing crying after the molasses jar broke, I've been thinking about that moment. Omg there have been times.... yet in all that, there continues to be this ridiculous proof of life, proof of joy, proof of reason to have hope, and it inevitably springs from inside us. And just saying... I bought a set of doggy stairs for my bed...not just for me, but for the dog I REALLY want to rescue....
Thank you for the very kind words, Catherine. We all inspire each other.
"challenging old ideas and habits, questioning what I’m still grasping from my youth and finding new meaning in getting older."
I'm navigating some sort of midlife transition right now. Basically still doing the same things I've done for the past 2 decades, but my values are shifting and I'm pursuing different dreams that have become more fulfilling. To use a metaphor, its like being on the same trail but crossing a ridge and now the landscape is looking much different. Our experiences are quite different, Julia, but your writing is like blazes along this trail for me. Thank you!
Many thanks, Erik. I find that Nature is a fine place to carve that new path. I have already got several event set up this year to go adventure on rivers, and I CAN'T WAIT to see how those change me. To exploration!!!
This essay by @JULIA HUBBEL is one of the best on midlife that I've read. Julia has pointed out some "slap-in-the-face" truths that I have experienced through living the muddy transitions of midlife, such as:
"We wander into adulthood with a backpack loaded with trauma and assumptions and a load of crap. We often have no clue we’re carrying.
Right about the time we are birthed out of middle age into our late fifties to early sixties, we are suddenly dubbed elderly. Life is all over, right about the time we finally find ourselves. Or at least, start to find ourselves."
In my case, I've been going through the painful rebirth canal of midlife since the age of 50, and I'm still not out of it yet! I think the process was sped up by a series of extremely traumatic events, for which I am ultimately grateful.
I feel honored to be mentioned in this powerful essay. I love the lyricism in these sentences here: "...a recognition of loss tinged with great sadness, and a recognition of hope in every dawn tinged with joy."
Thank you, Julia!
Well Louisa, it's my turn to tear up. Thank you so very kindly. These essays aren't easy to read, and sometimes they are vastly harder to write. For if I'm willing to scrape truth out of my life, the danger is that will happen to others. It doesn't always go well, but when we are brave, as you've indicated here, the end product is a much stronger us.
Julia, it takes so much courage to live through the life transitions from midlife on, and to continue to challenge yourself to scrap the truth. By living and writing about this, you have shown the utmost courage. Yes, there is danger, but it's a good kind of danger. Whether a person chooses the risky path of finding out the truth of who they are, or stay in their comfortable bubble, determines how the "end product" is. You and I know what kind of "end product" we want for ourselves, and it has nothing to do with tiny waists or wrinkle-free faces ;-)
Thank you Louisa. I wish I lived discomfort more, but I do live the results of it!