where women celebrate their ageless authenticity

Fitting In Right Where You Are

To me, one of the most rewarding gifts that comes from our many trips around the sun is our ability to zoom out to appreciate a more expansive view. Maybe it’s because we’ve gone through everything that now lies behind us. Surely time gives us that.

The earlier me was hyper focused on my goals. But, like most of us, I got lost in the details and sort of missed out on the bigger picture. So busy I was on my way to becoming, I couldn’t see that just being me at every step was all that was ever needed. With gratitude, I can see that now. How about you?

Do you know that you are just what’s needed in the age of now?

 

 

Why not change the phrase “Can’t see the forest for the trees” to “I am a unique tree that keeps growing in a beautiful forest.” After all, isn’t it the delicate dance of each living thing contributing to the whole that makes us stand in awe of nature? Embracing something bigger than ourselves, we can see that we are so much better together than alone.

When we are conscious of the tensions that come from otherness, we can minimize the distance in between.

When I connect to the Oneness of life I feel like the Universe has my back, and I’m always right where I need to be. That’s not saying life is all rainbows and unicorns. But when I’m fully present I can truly appreciate how amazing it is to be on this journey. And oh what an adventure it is!

Our diversity is evolutionary. It contributes to the variety of life on Earth at every level, and we get to play our part. How revolutionary is it that no one else in the entire world thinks exactly like you or me? And yet, we are all interdependent.

 

 

Time to revisit who I want to be in a life of my design. That’s where I can contribute to the world as I wish it to be. Where I can express my individuality without limits. Where there’s wonder in meeting myself right where I’m at. I fit in. And I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

 

My Takeaway

• Ubuntu is a humanist African philosophy that says “I am, because you are.” A Zulu phrase which means that a person is a person through other people. The idea of community as one of the building blocks of society. *When my youngest daughter was studying a semester abroad in Rwanda, I met up with her before she came home. In a country still healing from massive genocide, I got glimpses of Ubuntu in action. Residents gathered on weekends for communal clean ups of neighborhoods. And one memorable morning while traveling in a remote area before sunup, we stopped the car to share the road as hundreds of men and women jogged by in formation, celebrating community as they sang and chanted along with each step. We see it at home in our daily lives when we share acts of kindness, like opening a door, or carrying someone’s groceries to the car.

 

• In designated Blue Zones around the world where studies show people live longer, happier lives, one of the common threads is social connection. The happiest people spend 6-7 hours a day socializing face-to-face with other people. *I think Covid certainly put things in perspective for all of us. It was a such an awakening of sorts, feeling fearful, closed off and separate, so unsure of the future. As a society, we’re still recovering, but going through it together helped us zero in on what gives our lives the most meaning.

 

• Relationship and Sexuality expert Ester Perel says “When we allow ourselves to find the stranger within the person who has become so familiar to us, it’s enough to make us want to get to know them all over again.” *After 32 years of marriage, I feel like my husband and I are still growing together as a couple. Certainly we’re not the same people we were three decades ago. Yet, somehow in this chapter, we’ve come to celebrate our differences by giving one another space to pursue what brings each of us our joy. That way, we’re happier people with more love to share when we meet up to do the things we enjoy together.

 

Happy zooming out. I’d love to hear what comes up for you at intentfullyfit@gmail.com