It Takes a Village
Confessions from the Other Side…of 50It Takes A Village (to remember a sentence)It’s two days after Hurricane Dorian, and we’ve all been cooped up inside with no power. Penelope, ever patient, hasn’t had a good run in days. Off to the beach we go, the three of us...Hey, I’m Not Done Yet! 10 Reasons Midlife Women Rule!
A midlife woman I met recently in need of work and with a lifetime of professional experience shared that she sent out more resumes than she could remember with zero response. Zero. She is sure it’s her age. Just not right, I said to myself. We have so much to offer, I thought emphatically, in immediate defense of her and us collectively, the midlife and beyond women.
Really, do we hit an expiration “use by” date where we should be discarded or sold in some secondary market at a cheaper price? In a culture that values youth and perfection and has repurposed success and spirituality into phrases and brands like “Spiritual Gangster” and “Biz Babes” and gives advice in the literary form of, “Girl, Go Wash Your Face,” “You’re a Bad**s” and “UnF**k Yourself,” where do we midlife women fit in exactly? It seems as if we are caught at the crossroads of either giving into the perception that we are beyond our prime and putting on our frumpy, gag, or screaming, hey, we’re not done yet!
Inner Wisdom: How to Know What We Know
She expressed surprise at herself not completely aware exactly why she shifted. I suspect she felt safe, supported and calm, all conditions for inner wisdom to emerge, to come through, be felt or heard. We continued on, me being present, showing up for her in the most loving way, giving her space to be truly seen, using my own intuition for what was needed. Then it happened. I could visibly see the aha moment, the exact healing moment when everything changed for her. I am in awe and so humbled by these moments. Her whole body posture changed. She lit up, seriously glowing. What came out of her mouth was so pure it stilled my heart. She sat in amazement and said, “My heart just healed.” All this time that she’d been stuck, she said, others had been trying to heal her head, and it was her heart that needed healing all along.