When the pace of life is fervently furious and you have been on that ride for years managing work, kids, pets and various other afflictions that life brings in it's course, it takes time to assure yourself that just as the wheel was in your hand, so is the brake.
Lauding a quiet life has some of the eccentricity of praising rain.
As a woman, I have been told, to take a break is a privilege. It is convenient to stop being part of the work force that so many women aspire to and sometimes fight for. I don't deny that privilege. I see it as pro choice.
I am at that stage of life where it’s the perfect time to enjoy the simple little pleasures. Now, more than ever, I can take stock of things that strike a deeper chord with me. I am over 50 and free from caring what people think.
These fill me with peace and joy..
A setting sun
A quiet evening at home
Dinner out with a friend
A random text saying I’m missed
Time alone in a coffee shop
A long quiet walk by the sea
A workout
A visit to a bookstore
Meeting new people
Discovering places, or rediscovering and seeing places with a new lens
Experiencing moments, emotions I used to ignore
A meaningful conversation
Getting up before dawn
Acknowledging that I’m not perfect and don’t have to be
Acknowledging my new infirmities and accepting them as normal
Accepting that I have more past than future
Trying new things
Anger is not something I experience for too long. I let it go and accept that the world owes me nothing and we are all human
I can walk away from drama
Knowing that nothing is forever, and understand the depth of the statement
Wear what I want without thinking whether anyone else will like it
Looking forward to a weekend of doing nothing
Never feeling I’m missing out
And so many more…
While the world rotates on its axis and day turns to night, I choose to make the 24 hours count. I choose not to, any longer, pack those hours with unambiguous gains. I choose to get off the ride.
