Seasons Change

Here's an oldie for you. Name that tune. "Seasons change and so did I, you need not wonder why." If you're over 55, you should know that one! "No Time Left for You," by The Guess Who.

In 1970, I played that song over and over and over. On a record player, mind you. If you're too young to be reading this blog, you'll be like... "Record player?" But yeah. Had the album (American Woman). And that one line in the song seemed to resonate with me, even at the age of 20 when life was ridiculously simple.

Perhaps, it was a foreshadowing of one of the most real truths I've learned: life is seasonal. At any given moment, we are walking through the barrenness of winter, or the dying leaves of fall, or the new life of spring or my favorite season summer - when things either heat up or calm down. Life doesn't always coordinate perfectly with the natural seasons, but you get the main idea. Seasons change.

When I merged into college life, my small world of high school friendships expanded into a big world of new acquaintances. Of course, there was no Facebook or Twitter or any other form of faceless technology that would allow me to have a million followers without really knowing any of them. In the 70's, everyone we met - we had to talk to - in person - with eye contact and body language and voice inflections. Many of those encounters were temporary and ended with graduation. A few would get truly joined to you and last a lifetime. But it was a season you expected to end. You knew after graduation, everything would change - and you'd move on.

Another huge seasonal shift happens in the lives of women after 50. But unlike our 20's, we now tend to resist the indicators that speak loudly of impending change. And we hate letting go. What was once a flippant "no time left for you...I'm on my way to better things" is now a grueling internal fight to hold on to whatever has become familiar, whatever has become comfortable, whatever has filled our empty emotional places - even when we know it is time to shift, move on, change directions, venture out, and let go...

We have spent decades building our nest. We have our patterns, our rituals and routines, our friends, our fantasies, our jobs, our families, our homes, our comfort foods, our grudges, our unused exercise equipment, our schedules, our opinions, our obsessions, our fears, and our wounds that filter our reactions to people and life in general...

So when the indicators begin to spring up in our lives - that tell us it's time to let go, time to move on, time to switch it up, time to shift, time to exercise, time to eat healthier, time to extend grace, time to forgive, time to heal, time to be free from the pain of the past - we resist. We fight to ignore the indicators that sometimes hit us in the face, they are so obvious. And we sometimes say, "I'm too old" or "It's too late..." Or, "This is the way I've always done it..."

But your destiny is not tied to your age. Your purpose does not end at 50 or 60 or 65, when the world tells you to "retire." You have a purpose and destiny that was planted in you before you were born - and it will exist as long as you're hanging out on this planet! But to walk in it will require a willingness to pay attention to the indicators - and to shift, move forward, let go, and leave the nest of "comfortable."

I did not plan to be a Zumba Fitness instructor at the age of 60. In fact, it is almost laughable in light of my life's journey, which was mostly a comfortable career in education and public speaking. Certainly, I never wrote "fitness instructor" into a personal mission statement or a ten-year goal plan! But like most women, I'm pretty intuitive, and I began to sense a shift in my life - and the indicators began to point me in that direction.

And although I had a few raised eyebrows (from people who like to limit a woman's ability based on the numbers in her age), I went with my gut. I paid attention to the indicators. And I'm still going strong - and am in the best health of my life. But equally important, I've gained relationships - real ones - that were destined for this particular season of my life. Sometimes, we just gotta say, "No time left for you" to the familiar voices and patterns that are holding us back. And say, "I'm on my way to better things."

Don't be afraid to take flight. The advantage of being over 50 is that you've been groomed for this seasonal shift for decades! Get unstuck. Get motivated for change. Find the joy of a new horizon that you really won't be able to see if you're burrowed too deep in your nest. Hop to the edge of that nest and look out. Seasons change. So did I. You need not wonder why.

Cheryl



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