Transitions, Transformations and a Little Photography
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Into The Future
I’m not usually one who bemoans birthdays or growing older as I feel it is part of life. It feels like embracing aging helps my mind to be more at ease with the inevitable shifts and changes. Maybe it’s because I have some great mentors in this - a wonderful friend of mine is turning 95 this autumn and she has celebrated life and aging in ways that are truly inspirational. There is a softness and ease with which she treats herself as the years accumulate as well as a brightness, joy and gratitude to the way she greets each day. This isn’t to say there aren’t and haven’t bee challenges to be faced on a daily basis, however these don’t become the central focus of her time and attention.
Some key things that I’ve noticed and noted about aging reflect more about attitude and mindset than most other things. There are a lot of researchers saying that to age well (not sure what that means exactly) one needs to never retire
Compasses and Directions
I’ve had some interesting conversations lately about the future, direction and purpose of life and while sometimes these conversations can be a bit daunting and heavy - especially when the forward path is murky and unclear - I have been finding myself uplifted by them.
I was recently asked to participate in a luncheon for a youth group with members nearing the end of high school and next life steps looming for the students. A group of “elders” and recent graduates were asked to provide a slide with information about their career, what made them get into their career, what sustained them and also what advice they’d give to someone considering this career. It really got me thinking back a few years as I’ve just passed 3 years in retirement after a 38 year working life.
I approached my slide as though I was speaking to a younger version of myself and trying to tap into my motivations and advice.
Fawns and Flash Heros
Full disclosure here - I’m not great at surprises - as soon as Kory mentions that he has a surprise for me - I’m all over him badgering him to tell me what it is. I hate the suspense of not knowing. While I’m at it I’ll just ‘fess up to hating scary movies or movies with intense scenes - I’ve honestly never made it through the movie American Werewolf in London and it took me a whole weekend to watch Aliens. Maybe it’s a defect or it’s an internal protection against being blindsided or startled.
That’s a long prelude to letting you know - no fawns were injured - it will make sense shortly.
We’ve come to believe that we live in a mini version of The Wild Kingdom because in the year that we’ve lived here we’ve seen such a variety of wildlife from deer, coyotes, moose, black bear, skunk, jackrabbits and ring necked pheasants to name a few.
Maintaining Balance
I recall that during my working life I was constantly searching for balance - I felt the pull from work and an even bigger pull from home to have my attention. I will admit that there were a lot of times when I didn’t get the balance right and I feel that my home life suffered as a result. In addition I think that my mental and physical wellbeing suffered - not just from the actual stress of the situation, but also the additional stress of feeling guilt and regret for not being present for my family.