Midlife

I was listening to an astronomer the other day who lamented that the universe had entered a boring middle age. He believed the early history of the universe was like a cosmic 4th of July fireworks display, with galaxies colliding and merging and stars being born.

My welcome mat to midlife was the film "American Beauty," which debuted when I was 38. Observing Kevin Spacey's twisted turn from middlescence to adolescence was a cautionary lesson in how I didn't want to live my 40s.

Being the midlife psychology nerd I am, I seek out obscure books with a unique perspective on the topic.

Midlife is when time becomes more scarce than money. Money can return. Time can’t.

The late author Mary Catherine Bateson suggested that our extra longevity doesn’t mean we’ll be older longer. Instead, it means our midlife is extended.

Ken Wilber’s heady integral theory of the universe is above my paygrade. But, I appreciate his midlife adult development progression on the path to wisdom outlined in these four steps:

I've long enjoyed Pash Pashkow's TEDx talk on why "the midlife crisis needs a rebrand." Is any other life stage saddled with such a rotten narrative as "a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger" (that's the dictionary definition of "crisis")?!

One difference between being 25 and 50 is that the older you are, the more life you've lived and the more patterns you've witnessed. Teasing out our life narrative from the disparate experiences we've encountered helps create some meaning in our lives. If we're listening and attentive, hopefully, that life wisdom will serve us in the future.

“We spend the first half of our lives defining ourselves by the sentences: I am what I do…I am what others say about me…or I am what I have." - Henri Nouwen

Brené Brown wrote a blog post four years ago about "The Midlife Unraveling." She wrote: