"The neutral zone" resonates with what I call 'me', 'the me' or 'our me', the middle-ground between identity (and what or whom I identify with) and spirit, and standing my ground makes 'me' more aware of my spirited body, which makes me more aware of my informed bio- energy sphere, which is able to allow energies-in-formation, so... I'm enthousiastic when I read about your share, because it's the same story as my story but told in a different way.
I love seeing the 'sameness', identical flows of healing, love and consciousness aka as the flow and power in me and the options, potential, choices to express and create.
Leaving behind actions that aren't fuelled by spirit (inspiring) is an important part. I'm glad you explain that very well, because without it we often bin a beautiful idea, without realizing it's only necessary to express in a slightly different way (with more fun). That's how my new playground became visible 🤗 Radio Okeko... I love it. Recorded about 30 episodes and posted already 4. It's about (the sameness, identical) in me; learning & sharing; allowing healing and the rise of consciousness. And much love 😉
Yes yes yes! I’m on the precipice of the unknown, divorce looming, 60 and weighing all the possible options. This post was the first gift of the morning. I keep pondering the risks and benefits of packing up and going abroad for a few months, selling my space, living in a van down by the river…. Clarity is around the corner.
This post was so helpful Anne, thank you. I have used design thinking in my work over the years, but never thought to apply it in this way. The books are on my reading list now and can't wait to give it a try.
Hi Anne, I've only read a couple of your posts and enjoy reading your thoughts. I have taken up some writing after a career as a meteorologist, now retired. I love travel, love photography, love exploring new places, meeting new people. About a year ago I had a web site for my photography and it was consuming time and I just wasn't getting satisfaction out of it. I decided to abandon that website and instead started a substack blog. I am less prolific than I planned, but I'm trying. Somehow I heard about Steven Kings book "On Writing". If you haven't read it, I recommend it. Steven obviously knows how to weave a story and this book tells about his story and offers advice for any budding writer. His bottom line advice for writers is write what you know and write what you like. If you like it, someone else probably does as well. If you try to fake it, the reader will know and turn you off. Anyway, I hope all goes well for you and I'll start following along. Looking forward to more of your posts.
Thank you for sharing your mistakes, Anne. I feel that I have made similar ones and instead of beating myself up over them, you've given me permission to accept them and move on from them :)
Hi Anne, these are interesting reflections and ones I feel I see two sides of.
I do think the idea of quitting your life is overly idealised at the moment. I have moved so much throughout my career and I know there are times when travel and a change of place have brought me new insight and vision - there are equally times when it made me feel more lost, alone and isolated.
Of course, if you have lived only one life for years, I can see how that change can be beneficial. But I don't think it is ever a solution - as often after the initial euphoria and beauty - original problems rear their head again.
The other thing which you touch on - which I find tricky - is the American idea of travel to Europe - as often in these narratives, Europe seems to exist without its complex sociopolitical history. Because an American in Europe can live largely free from these old stories and restrictions. As a Scot, I find our political and social complexity, as well as our character and landscape, so often minimised, trivialised or romanticised in American and other foreign narratives about us. (I could add more but I will keep this brief for now).
I always think it is great to engage with the world, to know new places, to write about experiences. We are lucky to have these opportunities. I guess I see nuance from my own experience that is not always portrayed in many of these stories and I think they lead to sometimes harmful misconceptions.
Well, what to say, except that I don’t think I’m leading anyone down a primrose path. I try to convey the reality of my choices, and it’s messy, as all life is. I also hope I’m not romanticizing your beautiful country. I’ve been here long enough know to see past the tourism industry’s image of it. In fact, everywhere I go I try to do exactly that.
I really resonated with this Anne. I am navigating a messy middle, one where I am no longer who I was, but I'm not yet where I wish to be... but I am coming to believe that perhaps that 'who I wish to be' is an illusion. Maybe there is no destination self that I will reach and finally feel like 'I've made it'. Maybe as you say, life is just a continuous process. A continuous series of transition moments as we grow. With this framing, the journey of life feels a little less scary and a lot less pressured to 'get anywhere' and instead just be exactly where you are :)
I'm definitely at a crossroads in life, I'm *trying* to enjoy the journey, but it's not always easy. I took a screenshot of your mantra, as I love it ❤️
I absolutely support the approach to life where we experiment, we try and yes, we will fail, but mistakes are there to learn from. The book on designing your life sounds perfect for me too, as a planner, and I find myself on the brink of creating a new life for myself in Barcelona in February--a return to Europe for me, after living there between 1989-2011. It's a brand new canvas in which to paint my life at 64. I know there will be some glorious mistakes but also hopefully some stupendous successes. Just going for it is heady enough for me! I initiated a divorce after a 33 year marriage, the bravest thing I had ever done, so now I know I can do brave things. To recognize mistakes--even when they are so entrenched you don't even realize you've lived in one for decades--and then move on. Thank you for this community, Anne.
Thank you for sharing your story Anne. I'm navigating - or floating - the messy transition period at the moment and, having been very driven (fast) in the past, find this new, slower 'exploration' phase frustrating at times. But my intuition tells me to keep going...to wade through the discomfort! It's good to know we're not alone in this Life Design dance!
Love the Life Design process, and the emphasis on iterating and trying new things and testing them, and seeing how they resonate in terms of energy vs time spent. I'm still in the process of figuring it out - I think it's one that is ongoing as life changes - but being willing to abandon the "sunk cost fallacy" is key. I try to think of it as an experiment that taught me something, or perhaps something that was right for me at that time, but no longer serves me. It helps me let things go more gracefully.
I loved this Anne. Agree whole-heartedly that sometimes the very best ideas emerge form the mess. Designers, creatives try things. Vulnerability is a bug part of this, I think.
This is just what I needed this morning as I contemplate giving up something I’ve tried but isn’t bringing me joy. I needed permission to give it up as I’m usually the one who’ll stick with it but my time here on planet earth is limited so I’ll go for joy and testing and messes.
"The neutral zone" resonates with what I call 'me', 'the me' or 'our me', the middle-ground between identity (and what or whom I identify with) and spirit, and standing my ground makes 'me' more aware of my spirited body, which makes me more aware of my informed bio- energy sphere, which is able to allow energies-in-formation, so... I'm enthousiastic when I read about your share, because it's the same story as my story but told in a different way.
I love seeing the 'sameness', identical flows of healing, love and consciousness aka as the flow and power in me and the options, potential, choices to express and create.
Leaving behind actions that aren't fuelled by spirit (inspiring) is an important part. I'm glad you explain that very well, because without it we often bin a beautiful idea, without realizing it's only necessary to express in a slightly different way (with more fun). That's how my new playground became visible 🤗 Radio Okeko... I love it. Recorded about 30 episodes and posted already 4. It's about (the sameness, identical) in me; learning & sharing; allowing healing and the rise of consciousness. And much love 😉
Yes yes yes! I’m on the precipice of the unknown, divorce looming, 60 and weighing all the possible options. This post was the first gift of the morning. I keep pondering the risks and benefits of packing up and going abroad for a few months, selling my space, living in a van down by the river…. Clarity is around the corner.
Those sound like some exciting possibilities! May you find the best path for you right now.
So much truth and honesty in this post! Thank you!
This post was so helpful Anne, thank you. I have used design thinking in my work over the years, but never thought to apply it in this way. The books are on my reading list now and can't wait to give it a try.
Fantastic post, as always Anne. I’m going to explore the two books you mentioned.
Great! Let me know what you think of them.
Hi Anne, I've only read a couple of your posts and enjoy reading your thoughts. I have taken up some writing after a career as a meteorologist, now retired. I love travel, love photography, love exploring new places, meeting new people. About a year ago I had a web site for my photography and it was consuming time and I just wasn't getting satisfaction out of it. I decided to abandon that website and instead started a substack blog. I am less prolific than I planned, but I'm trying. Somehow I heard about Steven Kings book "On Writing". If you haven't read it, I recommend it. Steven obviously knows how to weave a story and this book tells about his story and offers advice for any budding writer. His bottom line advice for writers is write what you know and write what you like. If you like it, someone else probably does as well. If you try to fake it, the reader will know and turn you off. Anyway, I hope all goes well for you and I'll start following along. Looking forward to more of your posts.
Thanks, Paul! Your choice of Substack over a website was a great idea. So much easier!
Thank you for sharing your mistakes, Anne. I feel that I have made similar ones and instead of beating myself up over them, you've given me permission to accept them and move on from them :)
Hi Anne, these are interesting reflections and ones I feel I see two sides of.
I do think the idea of quitting your life is overly idealised at the moment. I have moved so much throughout my career and I know there are times when travel and a change of place have brought me new insight and vision - there are equally times when it made me feel more lost, alone and isolated.
Of course, if you have lived only one life for years, I can see how that change can be beneficial. But I don't think it is ever a solution - as often after the initial euphoria and beauty - original problems rear their head again.
The other thing which you touch on - which I find tricky - is the American idea of travel to Europe - as often in these narratives, Europe seems to exist without its complex sociopolitical history. Because an American in Europe can live largely free from these old stories and restrictions. As a Scot, I find our political and social complexity, as well as our character and landscape, so often minimised, trivialised or romanticised in American and other foreign narratives about us. (I could add more but I will keep this brief for now).
I always think it is great to engage with the world, to know new places, to write about experiences. We are lucky to have these opportunities. I guess I see nuance from my own experience that is not always portrayed in many of these stories and I think they lead to sometimes harmful misconceptions.
Well, what to say, except that I don’t think I’m leading anyone down a primrose path. I try to convey the reality of my choices, and it’s messy, as all life is. I also hope I’m not romanticizing your beautiful country. I’ve been here long enough know to see past the tourism industry’s image of it. In fact, everywhere I go I try to do exactly that.
I really resonated with this Anne. I am navigating a messy middle, one where I am no longer who I was, but I'm not yet where I wish to be... but I am coming to believe that perhaps that 'who I wish to be' is an illusion. Maybe there is no destination self that I will reach and finally feel like 'I've made it'. Maybe as you say, life is just a continuous process. A continuous series of transition moments as we grow. With this framing, the journey of life feels a little less scary and a lot less pressured to 'get anywhere' and instead just be exactly where you are :)
I'm definitely at a crossroads in life, I'm *trying* to enjoy the journey, but it's not always easy. I took a screenshot of your mantra, as I love it ❤️
I absolutely support the approach to life where we experiment, we try and yes, we will fail, but mistakes are there to learn from. The book on designing your life sounds perfect for me too, as a planner, and I find myself on the brink of creating a new life for myself in Barcelona in February--a return to Europe for me, after living there between 1989-2011. It's a brand new canvas in which to paint my life at 64. I know there will be some glorious mistakes but also hopefully some stupendous successes. Just going for it is heady enough for me! I initiated a divorce after a 33 year marriage, the bravest thing I had ever done, so now I know I can do brave things. To recognize mistakes--even when they are so entrenched you don't even realize you've lived in one for decades--and then move on. Thank you for this community, Anne.
Love your story. Going for it is also going in it, allowing it... aka the flow and power of 'me'. Cheers 💜
Wonderful! I can’t wait to hear about your adventure!
Thank you for sharing your story Anne. I'm navigating - or floating - the messy transition period at the moment and, having been very driven (fast) in the past, find this new, slower 'exploration' phase frustrating at times. But my intuition tells me to keep going...to wade through the discomfort! It's good to know we're not alone in this Life Design dance!
Love the Life Design process, and the emphasis on iterating and trying new things and testing them, and seeing how they resonate in terms of energy vs time spent. I'm still in the process of figuring it out - I think it's one that is ongoing as life changes - but being willing to abandon the "sunk cost fallacy" is key. I try to think of it as an experiment that taught me something, or perhaps something that was right for me at that time, but no longer serves me. It helps me let things go more gracefully.
I loved this Anne. Agree whole-heartedly that sometimes the very best ideas emerge form the mess. Designers, creatives try things. Vulnerability is a bug part of this, I think.
This is just what I needed this morning as I contemplate giving up something I’ve tried but isn’t bringing me joy. I needed permission to give it up as I’m usually the one who’ll stick with it but my time here on planet earth is limited so I’ll go for joy and testing and messes.
I’m so glad! I give you full permission!
Kudos. I love your new mantra.