While walking this morning, there on the sidewalk were several different kinds of empty nests that had been blown out of their perches by the fierce wind. I carefully examined the twigs and feathers and dried grasses that held these delicate abodes together.
How beautiful these one of a kind habitats were. Part of me wanted to pick them up and take them home, but I knew the act of lifting them would destroy them. Such was their delicate nature. Mother Nature would take them now.
The upheavals of our Leftat50 lives are like those once carefully tended nests. We are no longer their caretakers.
It’s a strange feeling. All of those years, painting, polishing and landscaping to mold a house into a home. Each one of those twigs represents a memory. Perhaps we started out in a tiny nest, and as our lives went on, we afforded a larger one with more windows and doors. Doors to enter and exit, windows to look out at the world and observe it from a safe distance. We created the perfect space for what was once a comfortable life with another. It was way more than four walls and a roof over your heads. It was a representation of your life’s work.
But what happened one day? Someone left the door open! The Outside World blew in, with its dirt and dead leaves. It quickly covered everything! There was no cleaning this up! We could scrub and clean and polish all we wanted to, but it would never be the bastion of order and safety it once was.
We had to move on. And this time we had to build a place all by ourselves that could still make us feel cared for, loved, and safe. This was not second nature. It took a long time to adapt to a change we didn’t expect, but had to right ourselves from. But we did, and these days, we can easily identify the right twig to take home with us.
We get used to saying a sentence we never thought we’d say again ever: “Come see my new place!”
This sentence may take a long time to get comfortable saying. To really feel happy about proclaiming. Believe me, I choked my way through it for a few years. Yep, years. So if you have this sentence still stuck in your throat, give yourself a break.
You know birds don’t migrate looking back for their nests once nesting season is over. They fly away and deal with it. Have you ever come upon a weeping bird? Nope. Those feather-brained creatures sing no matter what!! Even when they take off having no idea where they will land!
They don’t try to map the sky.
They just know they have to go.
I came home from my morning constitution and took a look around. A realization hit. I reside in life-affirming soul-expanding quarters which reflect who I am today! So no reason to panic when you fall out of the old nest, and land stunned for a few minutes, just trust that you will recover and the wind will carry you exactly where you need to be to thrive and sing and be. Think of it as the fulfillment of new feathers.
We all go through major life transitions when relationships end… Through this website, I will share my thoughts as I walk the path of “New-Self” discovery. It doesn’t matter which side of 50 you are on. The real question is, Are you ready to live life? To forge a Path of Your Own Making (For a change!)? Then stop dwelling over the What-Might-Have-Beens and join me. Share your thoughts here, comment on mine, and let’s do this together!