Comments on Mapless: The Winter of my Discontent

Thanks Susie. :)

2011-01-27T15:49:31.769-08:00

Thanks Susie. :)

It's truly awesome to watch from here, Erin.

2011-01-27T15:03:57.650-08:00

It's truly awesome to watch from here, Erin.

I think there is something about middle age where ...

2011-01-26T19:00:30.475-08:00

I think there is something about middle age where I think "Damnit, if I'm not going to be true to myself now on the downhill run, then when?" And then there is also the learning to be comfortable in my own skin...learning not to care nearly as much what other people think...learning to be honest about some things at all cost.

I already had my midlife crisis, 6 years ago. However, I think these recent posts highlight the culmination of it. I feel like maybe I can move forward for the first time in my life.

Funny about the age thing, I started deconstructin...

2011-01-26T17:07:48.283-08:00

Funny about the age thing, I started deconstructing when I was almost 40, and then continued for the next year or so. My wife said maybe it was my mid-life crisis, which in one way seems nonsense, but in another way seems to make some sense. It's a good point in one's life to re-evaluate things, and you're not a kid anymore, at least like I was when I jumped into the faith thing around 20 years old.

So dammit, a mid-life crisis has the potential to be really *good*, and important, and necessary. And it seems perfectly normal for it to happen at age 40.

I've been following along with your posts, thanks for writing and thinking out loud. I don't have a lot to say but am joying listening. And it's nice to know there are others in the same boat. :^)

If you stick with it - as I know you will, 'co...

2011-01-19T23:51:48.264-08:00

If you stick with it - as I know you will, 'cos your heart's set on it - you will be convinced. Oh, and there's no such thing as 'alone' on the Interwebs. What we think are the most personal struggles are in fact the most universal:)

It's very good to see you, Linda. How have you...

2011-01-19T12:56:59.394-08:00

It's very good to see you, Linda. How have you been?

It's good to know others relate...because sometimes I still feel like I go through things along. It's so much more helpful to share it with others.

Thank you, Hap. Love you too!

2011-01-19T12:55:56.958-08:00

Thank you, Hap. Love you too!

Thanks Harry. I would like that to be true, but I&...

2011-01-19T12:55:21.455-08:00

Thanks Harry. I would like that to be true, but I'm not convinced.

Erin, This post is brilliant. I want to say more,...

2011-01-19T06:52:02.032-08:00

Erin,
This post is brilliant. I want to say more, but I wouldn't even know where to start except to say that I totally relate to what you have expressed so well.

Cheering for you, Erin! Thanks for this post - so...

2011-01-19T06:18:09.435-08:00

Cheering for you, Erin! Thanks for this post - so much of it resonated so deeply with me.

Love you!

'Being you' means having Big Dreams, Erin....

2011-01-18T23:19:40.330-08:00

'Being you' means having Big Dreams, Erin. And going by the quality and depth of your posts, those dreams will have effects beyond anything you can see now. I look forward to them becoming reality:)

Barry - You're old enough to be discontented -...

2011-01-18T15:22:46.274-08:00

Barry - You're old enough to be discontented - you don't have to be exactly 40. :)

My question for myself and everyone else, then, is "So what are you going to DO about that discontentment?"

I haven't decided yet, but I'm looking forward to the search.

Katherine - Agreed. I'm not ok with contentmen...

2011-01-18T15:19:37.782-08:00

Katherine - Agreed. I'm not ok with contentment, not when there are still so many things to do. We all have delusions of grandeur when we are young...and it's not that...it's to really experience all the world has to offer and not just sit in one place forever.

Maria - That sounds like an interesting book. I ha...

2011-01-18T15:17:56.533-08:00

Maria - That sounds like an interesting book. I hate that we're not "allowed" to be restless and reckless when we are middle aged. Too much propriety says we must work and raise our families and be content, and repeat until we die. I don't want to be that person, but neither do I want to abandon my responsibilities. Trying to find a middle ground.

Ann - Glad I'm not the only one!

2011-01-18T15:15:39.064-08:00

Ann - Glad I'm not the only one!

Sorry for the tardy replies - I took the kids to t...

2011-01-18T15:15:09.877-08:00

Sorry for the tardy replies - I took the kids to the coast for a 3 day weekend, and just didn't have time until now.

Harry - I get that, and I try to take it to heart. But I do still have dreams. Being just me as I am right now is unfulfilling...I know there's more to me.

I can relate, and I'm not quite 40 yet!

2011-01-17T16:03:49.297-08:00

I can relate, and I'm not quite 40 yet!

Dreams. Purpose. Big topics! Approaching 50, I am...

2011-01-17T15:42:30.021-08:00

Dreams. Purpose. Big topics!

Approaching 50, I am amazed the the events of my life have not completely squashed the dreams right out of me. But they linger, persist, are irritants in the complacent places of life. And like all good irritants, they appear to have formed unexpected pearls here and there. But they are also unfulfilled and I am not as content as I would like to be, either. I am currently in that delicate balance of not letting go of all my childhood dreams while at the same time just following the path where it leads and trusting that purpose will arise on the path as I go.... when I was in the turning 40 place, I felt that "just let go of your great aspirations and be content where you are..." It has faded and the hope for dreams to come true has been renewed.

Hmm...sometimes, I'm not sure 'content' is even a place we should linger long.

Erin, Your post reminds me of a great piece of wis...

2011-01-17T08:17:54.879-08:00

Erin,
Your post reminds me of a great piece of wisdom from Anne Morrow Lindbergh -- It's from The Gift of the Sea, which is worth reading in any case. She has a lovely meditation on middle age and compares its restlessness and discontent to adolescence. We tend to encourage that restlessness in youth as part of growing, but get scared by it in midlife because we interpret it as signs of approaching death. She has a great line about standing in "that breathtaking empty space of an open door." Here's to taking that first step!

I can't believe how deep it all goes as we get...

2011-01-17T03:02:02.052-08:00

I can't believe how deep it all goes as we get older. I never had any idea about that, when I was young and living out on the top of things.

Erin,I identify with all of this! xx Annie

2011-01-17T01:39:24.594-08:00

Erin,I identify with all of this! xx
Annie

Great post, Erin. When it comes down to it, your p...

2011-01-17T00:24:46.176-08:00

Great post, Erin. When it comes down to it, your purpose is to be you. I know that sounds trite, but it's true. Go with that 'awakening', and remember the butterfly's wing that causes the hurricane. Everything we think, say, do is significant. But only everything:)

Now, Monday, have at you!:)