Dear midlife women,
Hope you are well and enjoying these long summer days!
I’m writing to let you know about a life design course I am developing focused on women’s experience in midlife. This will be a free online course and we will meet twice a month: once for a structured, facilitated ‘class’ with a guest presenter, and once for a loosely guided gathering with time for sharing and reflecting. Please be sure to let me know if you would like more information about this ‘design your midlife’ course as it evolves.
Fruitful: A Design Your Midlife Course for Women
I’ve been thinking about the experience of women in midlife a lot recently, and especially what it’s like to be a woman navigating her 50’s. I turned 62 last month with the awareness that I have been gradually emerging from a decade for which I was not prepared. I felt blindsided and knocked to my knees by how unexpectedly stormy it was – disruptive, turbulent, overwhelming, and unsettling. While I muscled through much of it, over time and with effort and support, I deepened my relationship with myself, and began feeling more of what Richard Schwartz refers to as the 8 C’s of the self: calmness, curiosity, clarity, compassion, confidence, courage, creativity, and connectedness.
I see many midlife women in my life design work, and although our journeys and experiences are unique and varied, I recognize some common recurring themes. In the midst of significant concurrent changes and challenges in many areas of women’s lives in midlife, there’s an overarching desire to connect more deeply and authentically with oneself and others, make course corrections where needed, figure out what’s next, and work toward building greater meaning and purpose in new ways.
There are ample reasons for supporting, empowering, and creating ease for women in our world, and especially women in midlife. I struggled through much of my 50’s with limited resources and information ~ because women (for example, my cohort were warned – incorrectly - that HRT increased breast cancer risk based on the misleading representation of one research study). Thankfully, there is now a growing body of research, information, and supportive resources aimed at midlife women. I care about women and believe that we need to be valued, supported, and connected, especially now as we are being called upon to respond to numerous complex challenges and changes.
While I would never claim to know what you need, or what would be most helpful for you in navigating your way through midlife, I can offer a map to guide you as you reflect on and figure some things out, the time, structure, and process to do this work, some ideas and information, and the opportunity to connect with others. Also empathy.
I’ll have more to share with you about this over the summer, but for now I would love to hear from you. Any thoughts or ideas you would like to share would be welcomed with gratitude!
Are you interested in knowing more about this course as it evolves?
Would you like to contribute to this course as a guest presenter?
Who do you know (or know of) who might be a guest presenter/contributor to this course?
What questions do you have about your journey through midlife?
What are you finding most challenging/difficult/confusing?
What are the best/most joyful/freeing/uplifting/exciting parts?
What are you learning? What would you like others to know?
What would be most helpful for you?
Thank you!
For now, if you are in or around your 50’s, this is what I’d like you to know:
You’re not imagining or exaggerating anything.
You’re not too much, nor are you not enough.
Your feelings are real, and they are offering you valuable information and guidance.
You haven’t lost yourself.
There’s nothing wrong with you.
Being a woman in midlife can be rough going – and also exciting and wonderful. You’re navigating a significant, impactful, and defining life transition. Seeking out understanding, support, and empathy, and practicing being kind and compassionate toward yourself can help.
Lots of love,
Heather xo