It is amazing the effect a few great nights sleep have on physical energy! It also helps that we have sun here today after about a week of a rainy deluge.
I still had one hot flash in the middle of the night (3:48 am) but was able to get back to sleep easily.
My bedtime reading was “The Wisdom of Menopause” by Christiane Northrup, I focused on the chapters on the emotional and psychological changes. I loved what I read and one phrase really jumped out at me, it was something about how in our North American culture, menopausal, midlife women start to become invisible. I think some women feel that we can only stay visible if we stay slim, have plastic surgery, “keep our looks” etc. This just doesn’t feel good to me!
I think of other cultures where elders are respected and saught for wisdom and guidance.
Recently I needed to gather pictures for a power point presentation (with the help of Lara Fisher of Bluefish Creative: www.bluefishcreative.com) that I did on “Menopause or Regenopause: the 7 Keys to Accessing Your Power in this Time of Transition”. It was really tricky to find pictures of beautiful, happy older women where their life energy shone through.
Personally, I think that the future of the world lies in the heads, hearts and laps of the wise women of the earth.
Here is the paradox (perhaps it should be a triadox), I refuse to be invisible yet I acknowledge the seductive desire to hang on for dear life to my youth, my looks, my energy while refusing to dishonour the magnificence of who I am now in all my changes, my little smile wrinkles around the eyes, my slight loss of hearing (except surprisingly when my teen age daughters are whispering about throwing a conjoined party while my husband and I are away), the extra stored energy around the middle, the drooping upper lids. Where are the role models for us, this huge population group of healthy, active, intelligent, living to be 85 years old women who want to do more than become invisible, who want to age gracefully and naturally, who embrace and honor the physical, emotional, spiritual, sexual, psychological changes that “cronehood” brings.
Hmmm, lots of pondering, with no answers, yet very curious!
Zoey
Zoey Ryan, life & business coach for women
Ah Menopause.. I really appreciated what you said about becoming invisible. I told a friend the other day that as you get older you become more and more invisible to man but more visible to God. It’s all about reinventing yourself. I still wear the same kind of clothes and hair style. I’ve seen lovely older women who wear elegant clothing and hair.. I’m not pretty like I use to be. I’m still suzie.. But with wrinkles and graying hair.. Good to share.. Susan