Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) Oct/Nov 2016 Aspire Mag Full Issue

Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) Oct/Nov 2016 Aspire Mag Full Issue | Page 39

Awakening to Authenticity: WOMEN IN MIDLIFE BY CHRISTY WHITMAN I f you’re like most women, reflecting back on the first half of your life reveals that it’s been oriented in large part around the journey toward a series of milestones and destinations: Seeking an education; finding the right career; getting married; buying the house, having kids… And while there is no doubt that the pursuit of goals like these can bring us great joy, fulfillment and meaning, it’s also true that the first half of life is much more focused around meeting the needs and expectations of parents, peers, culture and kids than it is around finding our own self-expression, and exploring what makes truly us happy. That focus changes sharply at midlife. There is a concept in Jungian psychology that tells us that whatever aspects of ourselves we haven’t realized, or expressed, in the first part of life, will demand to be expressed later on. One of the greatest gifts of reaching this age is that, for many women, it’s the first 39 WISDOM & SELF-GROWTH A New Paradigm for