What You See...What You Don't

On Friday, I posted this picture on Instagram and was somewhat surprised at the number of reactions I got! Only one was negative and it said “whatever” which I thought was very rude, but “whatever:…I can’t spend anytime worrying about that!

In a world where social media dominates so much of our lives and everything and everyone is filtered, I thought it would be nice to point out that there is always a story, but more than that, a person behind every single filtered photo.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more interesting and more interested. I’ve accepted my past and I’ve worked hard to get to a point where I don’t let past events influence my today or my tomorrow! I sincerely wish that all women could come to this point much earlier in their lives and I do believe that in part, because of social media, the idea of becoming self aware is getting out there.

As we get older, I think it’s important to be honest about our journeys. Sometimes life teaches us in ways that don’t feel so good, and most of us weren’t equipped with the tools to deal with these lessons. In fact, the lessons seem so hard because we weren’t believing in ourselves, we didn’t realize our worth and we didn’t love ourselves…we weren’t taught these things.

Our voices, as midlife women are more important than ever before! We can talk about how we overcame hardships, we can talk about learning self love, we can share our passions, our victories, our gratitude and we can be an influence to a younger generation. That’s what I call “turning your pain into purpose”. It doesn’t have to be splashed all over social media, but it could be, if that’s what you choose. Sharing can come in many forms, and sometimes, it’s just living your best life and being an example to those around you.

We are certainly not irrelevant as we get older. We are not here to be wallflowers…we have a voice, we have so much wisdom to share and we have much more life to live!

If you are a woman in midlife and you are feeling irrelevant, take a step back and look at all you have to give, at all the lessons you’ve learned and all the wisdom you’ve gained over the years. Consider it a privilege to have lived your life up to this point! I don’t care who you are, you’ve had hardships and overcome so much and you are still here to tell about it! All of that wisdom can be shared with those around you in many different and creative ways.

I have chosen to put myself on social media on almost every platform. There are those who judge me, I’m sure, but, they don’t really know anything about me. The people who judge, likely don’t read my blog because I’ve been very transparent about my life…my issues and my struggles. This post isn’t about people who judge me because that’s not mine to worry about…it’s just to say, that before you worry about what anyone else is doing, consider that their lives most likely have not been easy. Judgement comes from a place of insecurity and don’t we have better things to do than act out of insecurity?!

As women, we have the power of creation within us. Instead of creating conflict, let’s channel that power for good!

I am so fortunate to have such a supportive community on social media…I feel held and yes, loved by people I’ve never even met!

The part most people don’t see when I post on Instagram every day is the part that hesitates to push “post” because in the back of my mind…I still worry about what some will think. It’s human nature to do so, and we are all human. But…instead of letting my crazy ego stop me, I get really present and know that my goal is to inspire women in midlife, whether it be an outfit idea, a recipe, something inspiring or anything else!

When I woke up yesterday, I realized that in exactly 2 months…I will turn 60 years old. I will tell you that I have no plans to slow down. I AM JUST GETTING STARTED!

Clarity comes at strange times, but mostly when you take the time to get really quiet. After my morning meditation, I wrote this in my journal…

“In this and each moment, I choose to make the best possible decision to take me toward my dreams. I always have a choice. The small moment to moment decisions set the course for my life.” ~ March 4, 2023

Big decisions are usually well thought out, but often, we can be completely unaware of the small moment to moment decisions that we make because we act out of habit. In reality, those are the decisions that do set the course for your life. Being as present as possible in each moment can change your whole life. Stay aware of your feelings, your emotions. They are there to guide you. Take the time to feel what you feel and go from there instead of letting your mind take over. Women have incredible intuition but it doesn’t come from thinking…it comes from feelings.

Your life and your story are gifts that you can share with future generations. That alone, makes you anything but irrelevant!