forest dwelling & other transitions

“Forest Dweller '' is what Hinduism refers to as the time of midlife or vanaprastha. Its meaning is the movement away from “householder” the focus on raising children and managing productivity of work & home. It's a time where we stop with the business of all the “doing”  and we instead begin to focus on who we are outside of the material world of things & titles. It’s that alignment of what's really important and I think it's one of the first times we begin to grasp our mortality. We start questioning things like, am I happy? Is there more? Is this enough?  Is there meaning to all of this? What is my purpose? It may even be marked by our own children beginning to transition into their own householder years. 

I am in love with the imagery of “forest dweller. It certainly conjures the imagination that includes magic & mythical creatures. And completely describes my last few years.  I wish our culture embraced this life transition with more grace & gratitude. Instead we are hit over the head with all the messages of not being enough and how to restore our youth.  Here is a secret, none of us are broken, we are just aging, wandering our emotional forests letting go of all the material stuff that never made us happy in the first place. 

I don’t want to be the same woman I was when I was 25, 35 or even 45. Frankly, finally feeling at home within my own body and letting all the crap go, I’m having the best sex & deeper connections than I ever thought was possible. Putting away the armor that no longer served me, allowing myself moments of vulnerability including all the messiness of being human. Well that has made all the difference in my life. It’s not been easy, in fact it’s been fucking hard work! Funny thing when I run into an old acquaintance now,  I sometimes hear, “wow you look so great & vibrant”. Nope it’s not my skincare regime, that my friends, is what happy looks like .

Cheers to all my beautiful forest dwellers out there finding your happy & discovering your magic!