Friday, August 23, 2024
I’m in what someone might consider a slow period. I would think that someone close to 50 would be in the prime of his career and life, but I’m in a quiet period and ready for a change, frankly. I’m in a downturn, but I’ve had upturns too. I’ve had back-to-back schedules, lots of activity and new opportunities, and I was living in the fast lane. But now, I’m in the slow lane, so to speak. I enjoy both, and it’s important to reflect on the swinging nature of one’s journey.
Now that I’m in an extended recession, if you will, I’ve appreciated my losses. I’ve come to appreciate the noisy times too, when I was burning the midnight oil. In busy times, I need to remember to appreciate my gains in momentum. When I was married, had two jobs, and was going hither and yon, it was exciting, but I longed for downtime. I needed some losses. Now that I have downtime, I long for activity and I need a gain again.
Like a pendulum, life swings. My parents, both in their 70s, seem to have found a revived upswing – busy with their new retired life of leisure, enrichment, and friends. I guess I’m in a midlife slump, although that’s not the best word for it. It’s a midlife vacuity longing to be filled with gains again.
Exhale and inhale, when it’s time for a change, you’ll sense it. I say do your best to notice the swings in your life – upswings, downswings, and everything in between. Enjoy the phase you’re in. You’ll long to exhale when you’ve taken it to the top; and at the top, you’ll long to breathe out again. Don’t keep getting gains. Breathe out your losses, and a gain will come again. Life is cyclic. Don’t get stuck.