Thoughts on aging...
As I approach 50 (I am now a ripe 46 years Young), I find myself sitting in my mental window, peeking thru the curtains, and looking back over the morning of life. That is, the active years before 40 and 50. What a difference a day makes, so a decade of LIFE will have you daydreaming over cocktails. I am finding my stride as I witness the afternoon of my life opening up. I am no longer running to the fast pace of the morning, but am now finding time at last for more spiritual, cultural, intellectual, meaningful experiences...many of which were thrust aside in the heat of youth's race to....? The citizens of Amerika, with a terrific emphasis on staying young 'n active and material success, certainly tend to try and avoid the afternoon of life and many even pretend it never comes. We fight to push the clock back and prolong the morning, disrespecting our own mortality and purpose for being here, stressing ourselves out in the most unnatural manner. Of course one cannot succeed when fighting life itself. We are not meant to compete with our sons and daughters. To everything there is a season. Unfortunately in our breathless attempts, we often miss the flowering that awaits the afternoon of life. Midlife is a season that is often misunderstood and tragically misinterpreted. Many people never take time to smell the roses along the road from 30 to 50. I try to smell Every. Single. Rose. I am at peace and am grateful for the PROCESS of life. Over the last decade I have shed my emotional struggles, many of my frivolous worldly ambitions, the material burdens that the youthful morning of life incurs. I am free to begin fulfilling the aspects of myself that inherently take a backseat when we're raising children and running households. If we do it right, parenthood is a pretty selfless lifestyle, for the most part. For me, in this midlife experience, I am free and open for growth of mind, heart and my divine gifts. I am free at last to bask in my own spiritual growth, free of the confines of expectation. I see my history and my future when I look in the mirror. I see God's work in me, and it is priceless. I am comfy in my own skin and I actually like spending time with ME. Henceforth, I project that it only gets greater later... And I predict that I am on the path, full steam ahead, to living my BEST life. Modupé O, Baba! Modupé O, Yeye!! 50, here I come...the golden number of my Iyami Osun.       ~Pilar