Guest Post

Loving my second wave career stage, I’m reflecting upon how I got here.

Imagine a world where every child could speak weekly to a kind, caring and engaged older adult who is available to listen to them, and provide friendship and support. A world where a thriving community of older adults of every nationality come together with one purpose: to make the life of the next generation better.

This afternoon, I worked on my obituary. No, I am not announcing a heavy diagnosis, a sense of foreboding, or even a glimmer of a deathwish.

Mine is the Self-Observer. I do not need to draw my power from someone else’s view of my worth. I manifest my own outcomes from a field of infinite possibilities.

I spent my college summers working with master artists & makers all over India. I learnt way more about myself, the world and life in those few days than “school.” I left feeling inspired, supported and armed with new skills.

Excerpted from "The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul," her book which was released this week. After 30 years as a psychotherapist, my attention was moving away from the work, and my heart was opening in other ways.

Every summer I watch my family prepare themselves for our epic drive north from Baja California to the United States. We bundle into our minivan and take four days to traverse some of the most desolate and striking countryside I have found on the North American continent.

I once met a man on the Metro North train from Connecticut to New York who said he’s been heading to the same job on the same train for 35 years. At the time, I was young and that seemed mighty impressive.

There is something about the much-lauded Hero’s Journey that has been a little bitter on my tongue lately. It pains me to write this as a Joseph Campbell devotee, but I have a hunch that we simply don’t need heroes right now, and instead the world needs to hear more about our heroines.

When it comes to awe, I define it as a moment when the jaded heart gets a jump-start from the extraordinary. As a new writer/documentary filmmaker, I am a seeker and huge fan of wonder in every form. And yet, as the world shut down this past year, I struggled to find anything to awe, even on my good days.