Tag Archives: Life Journey

Managing Transitions

I just dropped in to see what condition my transition was in. I have managed to be going through a transition for a few years. One transition seems to be leading into another. I started my blog while in the middle of a transition from having a career to not. External circumstances thrust that change upon me. I felt like I was pushed into semi-retirement without having chosen it. My blog has been part of an exploration of what I am doing next. I have enjoyed being creative with my writing, but I do not want to do it full-time or be a writer of books. I have been tutoring part-time for a few years. I have struggled with the first transition. Going from a career oriented life to getting oriented to a life with no career. Or at least a job I had not planned on doing. I had planned to transition from a teaching full-time to a part-time teaching career eventually, but my plan did not work out as I envisioned. I never got the full-time teaching position. I worked as a substitute teacher for a while:

Then I started tutoring to see if that would develop into a business. Although I felt I was doing something good, I decided I didn’t want to develop it into something full-time. Now it feels like I am coming into another transition. I have been restless for quite a while. It’s just that the unknown makes me feel uneasy. Getting ready to let go of what I have been, and step into…..wherever my path may lead me next. Need to be willing to let it unfold by itself.

But the cacti are still flowering in my yard and I may soon be rolling in clover. 🙂 That’s my ever optimistic voice talking.

Clover in my backyard

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. Prompt word ” man.” Video of Kenny Rogers and First Edition ‘I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in‘ via 2old2Rock on You Tube. Featured image of Hummingbird on nest by jadis96 via Pixabay.com Video of teacher in class via Giphy.com

SOCS-Name the Day Mother’s Day

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“The mother-child relationship is paradoxical and, in a sense, tragic. It requires the most intense love on the mother’s side, yet this very love must help the child grow away from the mother, and to become fully independent.” -Erich Fromm

The umbilical cord is cut after a women gives birth to a child. I say there is an invisible cord that is never severed. A child does not understand this. The mother understands and knows this. She feels the attachment to her heart her whole life. When your children are away from you, the cord is stretched but never broken.

Happy Mother’s Day ❤

I am a parent, a mother. I am not sure if the intensity of feelings is the same for fathers or others. There are different kinds of parents, different genders of parents. But I can only speak for myself and say this is how I feel about being a mother/parent. I originally posted this last year for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. I think it is still relevant for this Mother’s Day. The prompt this year is “parent.”

How to Find the Meaning in My Life

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I have been thinking a lot lately about my life and how I want to make it more meaningful for me. This is a process of self-discovery as well. Tuning in and turning inward to myself.

For many years it was about the outer world and what was demanded of me, in work, marriage and motherhood. I had to fulfill certain roles, meet expectations, requirements, and others’ needs. Now I find I have more time to think, and to think more about myself. This is a new experience because for so long so much of me was given away. It’s like here I am, still here after everything.

My journey now is tuning into what feels right, in what I believe, where I want to focus my energies, to be aware of what energizes me, and what drains my energy. I want to devote more and more time to what energizes me, what I love. I want to be sure to spend more time on the relationships I really care about as well.

Even if you are in an earlier stage of life, I think it is important to carve out time for your own self discovery and enrichment. What do you think?

Act Your Age

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The image on my post is of Bette Davis and Gary Merrill in ” All About Eve.” This film was about a middle-aged actress being undermined by a younger, inexperienced competitor and how Hollywood treats “older” actresses.

We tell kids to “act your age” when we think they are acting immature and older people are sometimes told the same thing. What do we mean when we tell an older person to “act your age?”

I was very happy and humbled to see the response to my last post about Aging Disgracefully. The response made me realize that there are many people out there who are thinking about this issue.

One big reason why I do not like being told about “aging gracefully” is that I interpret it to be a prescription on how we should all behave and live our lives as we get older. And there are all these assumptions and expectations that come attached to that description of aging. Here is something from Huffington Post: “Want to Age Gracefully? Avoid these 7 Things,” with a photo of George Clooney and Sandra Bullock on the top. The suggestion being that if we want to look like these celebrities, who are obviously “aging gracefully,” we should read the following. And it seems the author thinks being in your 50s is the start of aging. Another post on the “Gen Fab” blog called ” Ageing Gracefully: What Exactly Does That Mean? ” has a photo of Sandra Bullock as Superwoman in the top photo. They asked women, a group of bloggers nearing and post 50, what they thought of “aging gracefully.” I liked the slideshow in the post a little better which includes some opinions of the bloggers.

Here’s another post from Huff/Post 50 today: “It’s Hard for Men to Believe I Feel Attractive at 50.” I almost skipped reading it with that title but she did have a few things to say I thought were positive about aging.

Another thing that bothers me is that much is written at older people and not by older people. I would much rather read about the personal journey than what someone thinks that journey should be. So I was happy to read what some of you shared about how you are living your lives.

How should we “act our age?” I don’t think we have to prove anything, like be a marathon runner, swim to Cuba, or take up aerobic yoga. To me it is a process of self-discovery. If we have been athletes all our lives we may still want to be athletes. But there are so many other things we can do. One reader said she is “creatively aging.” I am in the process of discovery myself. I have been working a little as a tutor and I am volunteering as a literacy tutor. I am blogging. 🙂 I want to start exploring other possible interests as well.

How do you envision your aging? How do you want to “act your age?”

FYI for the Introverts among us and those who love them The Quiet Revolution website is getting ready to launch soon.

Writer’s Quote Wednesday-Rumi

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“Keep walking, though there’s no place to get to.
Don’t try to see through the distances.
That’s not for human beings. Move within,
But don’t move the way fear makes you move.”
— Rumi

Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207-1273) was a 13th century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. His poetry has been translated into many languages and is much appreciated around the world. After his death, his son and his followers founded the Mevlevi Order or Order of the Whirling Dervishes. The whirling dance is part of the Sufi Sana Ceremony.