Maturity includes the recognition that no one is going to see anything in us that we don’t see in ourselves. Stop waiting for a producer. Produce yourself.
- Marianne Williamson (active link)
Last year I turned 34. As long as I can remember, I believed that 34 was the perfect age… right on the edge of youth yet old enough to wear fantastic heels! In my 20s I imagined all that being 34 would mean: being wooed by and quickly marrying my tall, dark and handsome (don’t forget rich!!) husband, living in “an estate” overlooking something fabulous, and raising our perfectly-behaved children. I’d have it all together, complete with perfect credit, a maid to clean the house, weekends at exotic Mexican resorts, well – you get the picture.
Fast forward to 34. Let's just say that things didn't work out exactly the way I planned... and the closest I’ve come to a Mexican resort was a detour in San Diego that led to a 4-hour “layover” in Tijuana.
And I’ve never been happier.
What I didn’t realize in my 20s was that life is indeed what you make of it, and that for most of us, my idea of “having it all together” doesn’t really exist. And for those who do live that life, the “stuff” is not what truly makes you happy. Life has a way of throwing curve balls that sometimes can’t be predicted. So what do we do? Get on with it anyway. Or even better, we turn would-be bad situations into great ones.
A few years ago, several fabulous women entered my life (you know who you are!), and helped me realize the missing puzzle piece to my own happiness: realizing that I am enough as I am. Over the years, they “counseled” me through many tough situations. As I became stronger, I realized that the person I am today is who I was always meant to be... and so are you.
The fact is, we are all a work in progress – we’ve all made mistakes – but what matters is that we learn life’s lessons in order to do better next time; and perhaps help someone else with our new-found wisdom.
I turn the big 3-5 in a couple months, and am excited to see what that year will bring. So what’s the perfect age? I believe it’s simply the number of years you’ve lived thus far, as long as you’re living them with purpose.
I'd like to hear from you. What do you regard as the perfect age, and why?
I think the perfect age is when you can truly look in the mirror with a smile on your face and peace in your heart. I just turned 35 this year and was at first a bit sad only because I finally began to say goodbye to the old me. When I said hello to the new me I became very happy inside. I love who I am, who I've become and I know who I'll be in the years to come. There is not anything in mylife that is unturned and it feels so good just to be happy with who I see in the mirror. I can't really say that 35 is that perfect age but only that what ever age you are when you come to this place in your life can you experience the perfect age, time and place :-)
ReplyDeleteHow ironic that I'm reading this, I was just having the "perfect age" conversation yesterday with a group of people. Don't quite remember how it came about, but I mentioned my neice said she will be 21 in 21 days. I said man, what it was like to be 21 (I'm 37 now). A friend said, she liked 23, another friend said she liked 30, but her husband quickly jumped in and said "you didn't like it at the time" (7yrs ago I believe) So it's funny how we may think 21 is good, but when you finally start working and making money, 29, isn't so bad, then the kids start rolling, and 21 is looking good again.
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