Author, poet, and naturalist, Diane Ackerman wrote these words; “I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.” Midlife is a time in our lives when we have the opportunity to examine the quality of our life, and for me, the creativity it takes to live the “width,” of my life has become even more challenging.
Most of us are finding our way. Humans are incredible in our ability to adapt.Examine your own dreams and desires, dare to learn, and live in a new and different way. The enemy can be routine. The challenge is complacency. Routine is easy and does not require thinking. Get up, have a cup of coffee, make breakfast, check social media, and start your work for the day.
Living the Length and Width of Routines
What if you have you had that cup of coffee in the sunshine while reading some pages from a book that you love? What about leaving your phone in the charger and having an in-depth discussion with your child? Be more present. It seems as if living the width of your life requires mindfulness that gets away from us when life gets busy.
Goals
Another thing that changes in midlife is your goals. When I was younger, my goals included graduating college, building my career, and buying my own home. I wanted to have a family and be financially secure. Now that my sons are getting older, I’ve found that not only have I achieved those goals but I have to stop looking at my children as the excuse not to focus on creating new ones!
This brings me to change. Midlife requires that you change and in fact, age demands that you change. Now you have the time and ability to focus on who you want to be as you move forward in life. I think that women have a harder time allowing themselves to focus on hobbies and their interests. Don’t feel guilty!
Live the length of your life and live the width. It doesn’t matter what age you are, this life is only on loan. Don’t waste another second. Learn something new. Laugh with complete abandon. Love without apology. Approach every day as a gift because it truly is one.
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