A Mid-Life Crisis for the Mid-Life Crisis

Born in the mid-sixties, I belong to that forty-something group who have collectively been going through the mid-life crisis, those middle years when we become acutely aware that our youth is beyind us for good and we have but old age to look forward to.

It's all too easy to lampoon the mid-life crisis - images immediately spring to mind of greying men lowering themselves into red sports cars or onto the back of Harleys and of forty-something women squeezing their rears into tight clothes more appropriate for their daughters and hitting the town's nightspots.

But if you want to do that in your forties does it really matter anymore? I mean, yes, we do have a culture with an unhealthy obsession with eternal youth, but hasn't my generation also managed to hold onto the good things of their youth as well? For me, I can still listen to cool music, wear my hair long, choose fashionable clothes, yes, even short skirts and go out with younger friends without feeling silly. And it's more fun because I don't need to get drunk, or pull, or impress anyone, I can just relax and enjoy the company. Phew, what a relief! Perhaps you're reading this and thinking, oh, yes, that sounds like mid-life crisis talk to me, but hey, what do I care!

I was surprised to learn that the phrase mid-life crisis was coined in the year of my birth, 1965, so it seems that the mid-life crisis is going through a mid-life crisis of its own! If it is, then my generation must be the way-showers for the generations to come. Yes, it's been tough at times, I could bore you with a few stories, but ultimately, we have the opportunity to teach by example that this profound time of life can be about taking forward the best things from our youth and seasoning them with the wisdom of age, that it can be more about breakthroughs than breakdowns and that it ultimately brings the gift of freedom of choice rather than the loss of options. What do you think?

Astrologically speaking, the midlife crisis is defined by a number of planet to planet transits including Neptune square Neptune, Uranus opposition Uranus and Saturn opposition Saturn. To read about what these transits mean see my article Rites of Passage - Age Defining Transits.

Mandi

As so often happens, this blog post started out as a very different idea. I was going to write about how my generation has been going through a collective healing crisis...this post coming soon...including why I think the healing crisis is coming to an end and what I think comes next...