Mid-Life Crisis

I really hate this term.

I prefer a different phrase for something so inevitable that happens to all of us at the same point in our timelines.

Doesn’t it make sense that halfway through our lives we’re going to self-evaluate?

Just because we take the time to recognize the things we haven’t accomplished or haven’t become (yet) doesn’t mean we have to be in crisis; it means we’re still interested in growing.

Yay, us!

Like most, my mid-life review has been uncomfortable. It’s caused me to feel alone and a bit lost. But that just means it’s working. There is a moment between our choices where we’re not holding on to anything.

I thought I’d have the urge to buy a sportscar or go visit some faraway place on a mountaintop, but, truth be told, I’ve been to the mountaintop, and being up there just takes me further away from where I need to be.

I don’t need fancy places and things. I don’t need ski trips in country houses. And I certainly don’t need a cherry-red Porsche. Indeed, I think these things, while intoxicating, take me away from what really matters.

What I need, what I shall seek more than ever as I enter my wisest years, is more kindness and connection.

I have reviewed my life and this is what I find: that I’ve done a pretty damn good job, that energy creates time, that being present is easier when you’re proud of who you are, that multi-year text threads and happy hours are much more fulfilling than fame, that the people you love deserve to know how you feel, that joy is ours for the taking, that suffering is forever bound in joy, that change is something to cherish.

Words and eye contact carry more value than a bullet-proof suitcase of hundred-dollar bills.

And I got words, yo.

Thank you for being on the other end of my thoughts, for all the heart-felt emails over the years, for listening, and for sharing.

It’s wonderful to be connected with you.