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FRIENDS, ACQUAINTANCES, AND FRACQUAINTANCES IN THE SECOND HALF OF LIFE

There is a place in our lives for those people who are more than our acquaintances, but not quite our true friends.

FRIENDSHIPS AND OTHER INTERACTIONS

Recently I was thinking about my friendships and how things have changed over time. I used to have many, many friends - close friends, work friends, church friends, mum friends, etc. Looking back at those friendships, and at the friendships I have now, I've realized that there are three categories of "friends".....

LIVING LIGHTLY THROUGH NOVEMBER

Choosing to live life lightly.  And how that looked  throughout the month of November.

LIVING LIGHTLY OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS

If you read my blog regularly (thank you if you do!) you'll know I chose "Live Lightly" as my Word(s) Of The Year for 2023. I've made a pledge to myself to chill out a little this year and to take things as they come, rather than trying to push too hard or trying to control everything. I hope my year will reflect taking life at a gentler pace and stepping lightly and slowly.

So, on that note, to wrap up November, I'm sharing a few little highlights that contributed towards an interesting month....

WHAT IS SOFT LIVING? AND HOW IT FITS AN UNBUSY RETIREMENT

What is a "soft girl era" and how does that lifestyle apply to those of us who want an unbusy retirement life?

WHAT'S THE SOFT GIRL LIFE?

I saw a quote on Facebook recently that referred to moving into "my soft girl era" and something about the term resonated with me and my choice to live an Unbusy life. For so long we've had the "Girl Boss"/Fierce Fifty hustle culture sold to us as the lifestyle of choice, but when we all re-surfaced after the covid lockdowns, a new way of living slowly emerged where women were rejecting stress and choosing a more gentle way of living.

After some research, I thought I'd share what "soft living" looks like in Midlife....

THE IMPORTANCE OF CULTIVATING KINDNESS

It's time to include small acts of kindness in our day to day lives - to speak into the hearts of  ourselves and others.

NOVEMBER 13TH IS WORLD KINDNESS DAY

The World Kindness Movement started World Kindness Day in 1998 and has spread to 28 countries. I thought that seeing today is World Kindness Day I'd share a little bit about why I think kindness is so important in our hurting world....

3 FABULOUS THINGS TO CELEBRATE IN NOVEMBER

This month I'm celebrating 3 fabulous life events - a birthday, a milestone, and an anniversary. Life is full of blessings.

LET'S CELEBRATE!

My Word Of The Year for 2022 was "Fabulous" and I just about wore it out... but, I think there's one more Fabulous post to write, and so I'm borrowing it for today. November this year has brought 3 Fabulous things to celebrate and I'm sharing them today - there's a birthday, a milestone, and an anniversary - so here we go.....

LIVING LIGHTLY THROUGH OCTOBER

Choosing to live life lightly.  And how that looked  throughout the month of October.

LIVING LIGHTLY OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS

If you read my blog regularly (thank you if you do!) you'll know I chose "Live Lightly" as my Word(s) Of The Year for 2023. I've made a pledge to myself to chill out a little this year and to take things as they come, rather than trying to push too hard or trying to control everything. I hope my year will reflect taking life at a gentler pace and stepping lightly and slowly.

So, on that note, to wrap up October, I'm sharing a few little highlights that contributed towards a lovely month....

IS CHOOSING A SLOW RETIREMENT COUNTER-CULTURAL?

Our society worships "doing" over "being" but let's be counter-cultural and live more slowly and intentionally.

CHOOSING TO LIVE SLOWLY

I love it when I receive comments on my blog posts, and I love it even more when someone takes the time to send me an email to share their journey and to let me know that what I write about encourages them to live life more slowly or more intentionally.

Recently an email arrived in my inbox from Michelle to tell me she was about to retire, and that after working so hard, she was going to choose a slower pace and find her identity in something other than working and being busy all the time. Her words made me pause for a moment and think how our society worships "doing" over "being" and how it's almost counter-cultural to want a gentler way of life when we stop working.

Today I thought I'd share three ways to counter our culture of busy-ness.....

DOING MY BEST TO LIVE LIFE ONE DAY AT A TIME

Life gets so much simpler and more peaceful when you live it one day at a time. Being present in the present moment.

LIVING LIFE ONE DAY AT A TIME

I used to be a planner and a worrier - well, I'm still a planner and a worrier....but I'm getting better at not being controlled by those two traits. I remember reading how living in the moment - being present in the present so to speak - reduces stress and worry exponentially. And the more I practice living one day at time, the more relaxed I'm becoming.

I wanted to share a few quotes and thoughts about that today because I think we all need to be reminded now and then that yesterday's been, tomorrow hasn't come.... we just have now...

USING OUR WORDS WITH WISDOM AND DISCERNMENT

With age comes wisdom and the ability to choose what we say to others, always remember it costs nothing to be kind and gracious.

DISCERNMENT IN MIDLIFE

One of the many gifts of Midlife is being more self aware and discerning. I think we learn to slow down a little and think about how our words and actions impact others, and adjust them accordingly. It seems like such a natural thing to me to not want to hurt others by saying something insensitive or by being passively critical. 

But maybe that's not the case for every woman hitting her 50's or 60's.....

SELECTIVE IGNORANCE AND WHY IT MAKES SENSE

Selective Ignorance is all about intentionally choosing what to pay attention to and what to ignore. It gives us the power of choice.

CHOOSING TO BE SELECTIVELY IGNORANT

In January I chose "Live Lightly" as my Word of the Year because I had a deep desire to simplify my life and to focus on what was important - while screening out all of the background noise. I wanted to shed some of the weight/baggage that I carried around with me, but I also realized that I wanted to be more selective about what I allow into my thoughts and what I give my time to.

Recently I discovered a concept that really appealed to me, it's an effective way to intentionally choose what to give my attention to. That concept that resonated with me is "selective ignorance"....