IT'S TIME TO OPEN UP
Midlife offers so many opportunities to rediscover ourselves and to explore all the potential we've yet to uncover. The decades leading up to our 50's were all about investing in others - family, work, commitments, and meeting expectations. Now we have the chance to invest in ourselves and to open ourselves up to be filled and then to overflow some of that fullness into the world around us.There's three types of openness that I want to touch on today as part of my List of More (today's letter is "O" in case you were wondering!)
OPEN MINDED
Definition: ready or receptive to new and different ideas.Something I really love about Midlife is the opportunity it offers to be open to new ideas without necessarily being overwhelmed by them. I like the concept of being able to accept the opinion of others without having to take ownership of that same belief. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and being able to express it, but with age and maturity we learn to sift through the noise and make wise judgements. What might be right for one person doesn't have to be right for us - we can explore it a little, measure it against our own values and then accept or discard it without causing upset or division.
I've learned so many new things over the last few years. Interacting with other Midlife bloggers has taught me so much about mental, emotional, and physical health. I've been able to immerse myself in a belief system that says that Midlife isn't about being invisible, or even "looking good for your age", rather it's about growth, discovery and finding your true self. It's about flourishing, thriving and being our best possible selves. I would have struggled so much with this stage of life if it hadn't been for the positivity and joy that blogging produced.
OPEN HEARTED
Definition: kind and generous; candidly straightforward; sincere.I love the concept of Open Heartedness - how wonderful would our world be if we all embraced having an open heart? How would it look if we were generous, real and sincere? I want those three descriptors to be part of who I am throughout Midlife and beyond - for people to know that what they see is what they get (and it's all good and positive - not dark and dismal). Being open to others, generous with our time and attention (and our funds where we can), and offering it all from a sincere heart isn't hard to do - we just need to be willing to put ourselves and our hearts on the line, risk a little hurt, and reap the blessings that will come.
Reaching out to encourage others is so important to me, it's what this blog is at its heart. I'm not here to coach anyone, or to offer all the solutions to being over 50, but I am here to tell people that it can be a wonderful stage of life, it can be full of optimism, and hope, and love. Midlife offers us so many avenues to speak into the lives of others and to care and invest ourselves, we have more time and more freedom and flexiblity - don't waste them, open up and share your joy with others.
OPEN TO NEW THINGS
Midlife these days brings with it three added extras - 1) spare money 2) good health 3) social media and they open us up to new experiences and freedoms that our mothers and grandmothers missed out on when they were our age. We are able to travel more, we can spend hours talking to our adult children and our grandchildren who live at a distance from us, we have multiple options when we eat out, shop for clothes, turn on the television, work out, or even where we meet for coffee. Life is full of so much variety and there's always something new to try without having to look far from home.The one proviso is that we need to take advantage of these opportunities. It doesn't matter what's out there if we don't take the time to investigate, learn new skills, or take a risk here and there. The internet offers a wealth of information, technology, and interesting/engaging content - 30 years ago computers were an unknown, scary new world, the internet didn't exist and we'd never Googled anything. Look how far we've come and imagine how much further we still have to go - stay open to what's on offer and stay current because that's what makes life interesting.
LIFE'S SHORT
Something I keep returning to lately is that life is short, it's getting shorter every day now that we're past the halfway mark. What are we doing with this one wild and precious life we've been given? Are we opening ourselves to all that's on offer? Are we open to others and how we can engage with them? Are we open to new opportunities when they present themselves? Are we flourishing - opening ourselves up to all that's before us?WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Are you open to all that life is bringing your way? Are you making sure you haven't closed yourself off from the world, from new experiences, and from other people? Are you making the most of the freedom and flexiblity that Midlife brings with it?RELATED POSTS
To keep up to date with my posts, feel free to add your email into the spot especially for it on my sidebar and I'd love you to share this post by clicking on a share button before you go xx
This post was shared at some of these great link parties
I so totally agree with all these Leanne - we need to open doors, open our minds, hearts and let it all in and out! That poem by Mary Oliver is brilliant and as I've just been with family for over a week remembering my father-in-law and my brother-in-law, the words can't be said often enough - what are we doing with this one wild and precious life!!! Make the most of it. Another fabulous and inspiring post my friend :) xx
ReplyDeleteHi Deb - the tragedy of lost loved ones definitely makes us appreciate all that life still has to offer for those of us left behind. My dad led a very selfish, self-centred life and then died early. He left no legacy, no happy memories, not family remembering the good times etc - and that's SUCH a sad life story isn't it?
DeleteI agree with all this at any time in life to be honest. I love how being open to new experiences has brought so much into my life. I think if you are open, you will get back in abundance too.
ReplyDeleteI agree Sanch - when we close ourself off from opportunities and life experiences we're poorer for it. I love that being a little bit brave can reap so many rewards. x
DeleteBeing open to the new is something I 'make' myself do these days because along the path of my pretty stressful transition to retirement I lost my confidence and curiosity. Cancer helped bring a lot of that back and so now, instead of 'no' I think along the lines of 'why not?' I also take time to consider the ramifications too and if they do not match my physical capabilities, then I let them go. But at least I consider them.
ReplyDeleteThank you for linking up for Life This Week. Next week's optional prompt is 32/51 What Makes You Laugh? 12/8/19. Hope to see you there too! Denyse.
Hi Denyse, isn't it a strange conundrum that it takes a huge "negative" life upheaval to make you take stock and start appreciating all you have? For you it was cancer, for others of us it's been a work disaster, for others divorce etc. But if we step back and learn and then embrace all that life has to offer, then those trials served their purpose didn't they?
DeleteHi Leanne, I appreciate your pure love of life. Joy one oseems isto fbe seeping into my life more and more since I turned 50. Mountain biking through the woods favoriteis one of my favorite ways to get rid of my mental junk and feel alive without anxiety and guilt running the ahow. To promote women over 50 to stay on their bikes and on single track I started a blog. www.womenover50whomountainbike.com
ReplyDeleteIt offers specific info about all kinds of practical issues, inspirational stories and mental/emotion health stories. Could you please share the address with your community? Mountain biking is exploding as a sport in the states, Europe and Australia. Would love to get all of us gals together. Much thanks if you are able to help me out. All my best, Darcy
PS: I would also like to link with your blog.
Hi Darcy - it's lovely to meet you. On Wednesdays I co-host a bloggers' link party called Midlife Share the Love. You are more than welcome to link up a post about your mountain bike adventures and meet other bloggers who I'm sure would love to connect with you and follow your blog. We Midlifers are certainly making the most of our 50's and supporting each other all the way xx
DeleteTrying to send this from my phone with auto correct and big thumbs make it tough to type. I will use my computer for future conversations!
ReplyDeleteYou were brave to try Darcy - I use my laptop for all my commenting - auto-correct on my phone drives me crazy!
DeleteLeanne, this jumped out at me at #BloggersPitStop because this is exactly where I'm at right now! After retiring from a career that forced me to behave as an extravert even though I'm very introverted, I slipped into "hiding," so to speak. A few months ago I suddenly decided to open up and began watercolor painting. And a few weeks ago I began putting some of my little paintings on my blog. Thanks for your uplifting blog!
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with your ideas, in fact life is too short to be cringing in a rat hole and getting frustrated on others opinions. Thanks for joining us in Bloggers Pit Stop - Pit Stop Crew
ReplyDelete