Has your summer slipped by as quickly as mine did? I blinked and August just vanished into thin air. The good news is I'm still here, still hanging in there, following my sugar-free lifestyle, dancing my butt off with Katia and doing the occasional tone up with Tracy and I feel good. Great actually. For the first time since I hit midlife, I feel balanced and in control. Touch wood.
So what is midlife?
Midlife is the halfway point (by my definition) where you're no longer in angst and confusion about who you are in the world. It's a time where you can really step into your own shoes and feel comfy walking a mile or twenty in them, you can just be unapologetically you! For further information, look to the right of this post and see Shamandment #1, and insert your own name.
Do you have to have a crisis to get here?
I don't think so, not if you accept yourself fully and have lived a life that's true to who you really are. Unless you've spent the majority of your life faking it or trying to fulfil some ridiculous (real or imagined) image of who you think you're supposed to be, then yeah maybe a crisis is in order.
Is it dark and terrible?
All depends on how you look at it. With a sense of humour no, it's kind of fun and sometimes even hilarious. Irksome at other times sure, like when you're getting a pedicure and the girl who looks to be about 12 years old (when did everyone start looking so young?) asks if you'd like a complimentary toe wax and you think "Christ, my eye sight must be shot, how did I miss the soul patch on my big toe?" But mostly it's cool. These are our "Carlsberg years," you know the ones, the years where we're still happenin' but we're a little wiser and more sophisticated, still too young to be considered the "Golden years." Thank the lord!
Anyway.
I'll be honest when I tell you that 2016 has really put me through the wringer, pushed every button, brought up all my shit, forced me to look at the deep dark corners, examine my triggers and crutches and go to's when I'd rather not deal, and has forced me to deal, to surrender, to hand my crap over to a higher power, and to trim away all the things (sugar, people, thoughts) that are not feeding my soul. I've become so much closer to some amazing people, y'all know who you are, been inspired by new folks doing innovative things and have been granted opportunities that I am gonna rock the hell out of over this last quarter.
Don't know about you, but for me it's feeling like a "back to school" event. I wanna run out and get some shiny new shows and a brand new back pack for my clean slate, fresh start, happy autumn season that I can feel is right around the corner. And you know me, whenever I want a fresh start I tend to create something new. So I've done just that. I have created a new IG PAGE that I plan to stuff chalk full of beautiful nature shots, trendy urban discoveries, and new job/work related fun stuff. Can't wait to share it all with you, so hope to see you there!
Until then here is just a small taste of the beauty I was blessed to be surrounded by for the past two weeks.
Big hugs and lots of love,
Shan
