“I can scarcely wait till tomorrow when a new life begins for me as it does each day.” ~ Stanley Kunitz, 100 year old poet
I wish I could say with confidence that even at the half-century mark, I’d felt as thrilled as Stanley in reaching his impressive milestone. Then again, how should I have reacted? Reflective, curious, excited, or grabbing the phone for a referral to the most skilled plastic surgeon within my network? Is there ever a singularly proper way to celebrate significant birthdays?
What turned it around for me? Well, age 49 was safe. It produced a little flutter but I knew that I still had time, really. At forty-nine you are sitting at the edge of the swimming pool, dipping a toe in and checking it all out. Taking in the scenery and not stressed. From the corner of your eye, you may spy the diving board, but it is far off in the distance, removed from the present and not yet even in your neighborhood.
Now, 50 is different. At fifty your choice is to slip into the water without a splash or approach that diving board with mixed emotion; to plunge in or not even create a ripple. You place your hands on the ladder’s rungs as you climb higher but with less conviction. There are choices now that you have arrived. There are no guarantees, no safety net and the internal dialogue is oddly quiet. You may walk to the edge, curl your toes around the board, hold your breath, close your eyes and jump. Or, you can walk to the edge, open your eyes wide, spread your arms and leap into the uncertainty ahead full throttle, when low and behold you are flying!
Did attitude trump trepidation in making this decision? In my case it did and it was freeing beyond belief to choose to begin this fifth decade with gusto. Embracing the unknown most assuredly shifted the energy and thrust me forward far more decisively and on a broader path of learning and activity.
Having had the experience, I urge you to be BIG, take up SPACE, swing out, grab the bar and celebrate your milestones with a plan to add whatever you choose to your life blueprint and have fun in doing so.
©2015 Maureen Weisner