Life after 50 has been a delightful surprise so far! That isn’t to say that I don’t have stress and challenges; in fact, I’m discovering interesting challenges that come with aging. But I am aware that I am better prepared to meet challenges that ever before. Without knowing it, I have been preparing for this ”third age” all of my life. I am more self-aware, more resilient, more knowledgeable and more resourceful than ever before. I have terrific support from a diverse and amazing social network. I am up for the challenge, and I intend to make the most of it!
The “third age” refers to that phase of life when we become an elder, one of the experienced mature members of our tribe. Being an elder implies that I have collected up pearls of experience that are valuable to me, as I create the rest of my life, and valuable to other tribe members who could benefit from my hard won wisdom. Being an elder today is different from “elder experience” in the past. I expect to live longer as an elder, and to have greater freedom in choosing my path through maturity to my final destination. I intend for this part of the journey to be emergent and creative. I intend for it to be meaningful and intrinsically satisfying. I will savor the treasured times along the way, perhaps even the challenges. I often find myself in a creative flow that requires no particular effort. I am aware of ways that I promote this flow and cooperate with it as it happens. It feels great! It’s so different from the struggle and effort I associate with my life when I was younger.
So here I am, aging along. And so far, it is just fine with me. A few years ago a young psychotherapy client asked me, “Are you a mom or a grandma?” It scrambled my brain: I was a mom but my chldren were grown,and I am not yet an official grandmother, so where did I belong? Today I am less defined by roles. I am, more than ever before, fully and completely ME! That’s a valuable pearl in itself.
-Marcia McConnell Ranch
