Thursday, February 25, 2010

AGING IS HUMBLING

WELCOME TO MIDLIFE MEMOS     
                           
THE SWAMP GODDESS® GUIDE TO MENOPAUSAL MAYHEM AND
AGING ANGST
BLOG #5 by Wendy Kyman, Ph.D.
AGING IS HUMBLING

Ahhh... the arrogance of youth, particularly its two distinctive characteristics:
   -  knowing it all
          and
   - believing time stretches on forever.


Remember (or not) being young:
 - time wasn't important
-  if something wasn't done at a specific moment, it could be done later.
-  if a bad choice was made, it could be fixed later.
Comfort came from the notion that there was always a 'later'.

Aging is humbling:
Now, we understand time:
 - can't be controlled
 - held back
 - captured
 - or, even if really desperate, stolen.
Time slips away from us.
And, perhaps most poignant, is the realization that 'later' is not a sure bet.

So then:
One question sums it all up - how did we get here - to this stage of life???

And then:
Is this actually midlife, i.e. the midpoint of our lives?
   - If we are now 50 - then we are expected to live to 100!
   - If we are now 60 - then we are expected to live to 120!
Seriously??? We are not fooled. Are we? Do we want to be?

But then:
Is this middle age or young old age. Does it matter? Does anyone care? Not really.

Lately, it seems many of us have somehow settled on the neutral label 'aging'.
Apparently 'aging' is a process, as opposed to 'old' or 'aged', which is
so final. Who thinks of these things?

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Swamp Goddesses believe if our biggest concern is what to label our current stage of life, we are doing great.
Clearly, most of us are dealing with more pressing concerns. Duhhh!

UNHOMEWORK
What humbles you about aging?
What surprises you about aging
What do you enjoy about aging? Anything???

NEXT WEEK'S TOPIC
 HOW DID WE GET HERE
        Those of us in the midst of aging angst are sometimes stunned, often bewildered and rarely amused by our predicament...

HELPFUL HINTS
Midlife Memos is a weekly blog. If you click 'followers' or 'subscribe' you will
automatically receive each new one
 or, just come back to www.midlifememos.com.

NOTES
CONTACT INFORMATION
Email:           drwendykyman@gmail.com
Facebook:     facebook.com/drwendykyman


No comments:

Post a Comment