New Becomings

Generation X can be considered the Sandwich Generation - sandwiched between the mega influences of Boomers and Millennials, sandwiched between taking care of elderly parents and young children, and growing up mostly on fish sticks, hot dogs, and, you guessed it... sandwiches. My generation, in the Western world, were largely latchkey kids whose Boomer parents were busy working hard to make it big; big money, big changes, big ideas, and not much time to raise their children. But, what Boomers gave their children was the key to independence and adaptability - precisely the skills required to stealthily move ahead in uncertain times.   Gen X has been largely ignored by hectic parents, advertisers and society in general. Except, GenXers are blooming in their later years, having raised themselves, creating livelihoods from scratch with an understanding that nothing is guaranteed, and an innate quality of  "living in the present".    As I watch my father grow old, frustrat...

Women have developed a skill for slow, methodical, and unmistakable change over centuries - Lately, we've become impatient... The impatience has created an inner and outer turmoil where women (yin energies) have decided, consciously or not, to use male traits (yang energy) to whip through the most important change in Her-story - A change that history will remember as pivotal in the evolution of humanity. [I should mention here that I'm not speaking wholly about 'gender', this is about 'masculine' and 'feminine' energies, which can be attributed in a spectrum of qualities to everybody] I have been a master at using yang energy to move through life, and have now come to the understanding that if I am to further grow, I must fully incorporate yin energy - I also believe that the growth of society, past all the anger and upset, must also fully incorporate yin energy if it is to continue at all. In the past, any yin energy I had was used in a passive manner t...

 We all have had meltdowns during this pandemic - luckily in this house, not all at the same time! I'm surprised there haven't been more meltdowns. Each day is pretty much the same - ticking off the passage of time with no apparent change, although I keep saying that one day we'll look back and realize what we've learned through this, it doesn't actually help in the moment. It's easy for us adults to chime in with our words of wisdom, trying to help quell young worries of missing rites of passage, missing friends, missing out on life, but as my eldest said "Mom, you've already lived your life, we haven't even started!" She's right. Yet, as both my parents have said "I still feel like I'm in my 20s, the only difference is that I'm old." And there's the rub. Our minds are always curious, always learning and wanting to learn more - it doesn't end. In my own evaluation and ideas about life, I consider death to be anoth...

There's a fine line between "Life's short, eat the cake" and "My arthritis is acting up because I had too much sugar" I am adding new, good habits to my life, but honestly I still have some bad habits. At this point, I'm actually heavier than I was when I started working out! I weighed myself for the first time since starting a 'regular' workout 7 months ago, beginning slowly at 2x/week, and moving to 3x/week at the start of 2021. Luckily, my friend/personal trainer calmed me down as she explained that I'm building muscle, and losing weight was not the goal of why I started working out in the first place - I needed more strength, as I was finding routine tasks physically more difficult. And, I've got what I call the ol' lady toes , which are painful warnings that the bad habits have taken over and should be reined in. Yay though! I do feel stronger and am definitely more flexible. My clothes feel less tight. But that nagging scale... ...

The BackStory 7 months ago, I started working out with a friend, via Zoom, who is a personal trainer. We'll see how this goes... 5 months ago, I turned 50. The time of life where youth is far in the rear view mirror. Today, I start a new journey in discovering the joys and sorrows of living the second part of my life. The first part of my life, after growing up in a privileged yet average household, I began the journey into self-actualization -- meaning, a conscious effort to discover who I am, who I would become, and who I will become. In my 20s I hitchhiked around, performing music in venues and street corners as a singer-songwriter, lugging my guitar along with my tent and backpack. In those years, I dabbled in psychedelics, usually alone in the wilderness, and opening my mind to possibilities that were not apparent in the usual steps of school, job, house, and family - Though, there is nothing wrong with these things, and I now have all of them, they were not at the forefront i...