Back when I was turning 50, I made a list of dreams and goals for my next 50 years. Not exactly a bucket list because there was, and is, so much life ahead. This was more like a rite of passage, a transition from one phase to another. Kind of like turning 10 and finally having two numbers in your age; or turning 13 and finally being a teenager; or turning 15 and finally being able to drive. More like a grown-up puberty.
Once upon a time, turning 50 meant starting that downhill descent. But for me and lots of other Baby Boomers, turning 50 is just the beginning of a new phase of youthfulness and re-invention characterized by a powerful sense of joy, awakening, and reinvention. The next 50 felt full of promise to be even richer and fuller and more satisfying.
In her book, The Age of Miracles, Marianne Williamson sets out to officially reframe this transition asserting that many of us are just getting started at 45 or 50. We've learned from both our successes and our failures. We've been humbled and honed. We may not have quite as much energy, but we do have a laser sharp focus and a keen understanding of how precious each moment really is. We've already lived what for much of humanity's history would have been a complete lifetime and now we have what amounts to a second one within this one, complete with our knowledge, skills, and passions.
My current list of 100 things includes lots of travel destinations and books to read. It does not include jumping out of a plane even though that's a biggie for something like 73% of everyone else. Mostly it includes things to savor, not becasue they are new, but because I want to savor them even more mindfully.
So here are my fun things to do before turning 60 in just a few short weeks:
- Get a tattoo
- Ride a zip line across a river
- Bask in a hot spring
Cause this old kid still has a lot of life and a lot of places to go, people to meet, foods and wines to sample, adventures to have, and business to accomplish.
Coming????
Anne Wade is Teacher, Writer, Mentor, and Coach for courageous women in midlife and beyond who want to disrupt their own status quo and design life on their own terms, even in turbulent times. She has developed the Becoming Found process of going within to find and address the inner barriers we have all inadvertently built up against love, happiness, health, wealth and any other desires of our hearts. Teaching women to unapologetically shine like a superstar and live their legacy is Anne’s mission.
You can follow her on her Facebook page “Anne Wade – Becoming found” or join her “Becoming Found” Facebook group.