I'm Turning 50 & I'm Ready to Shine, Shine, Shine!

“Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness, will we discover the infinite power of our light.”
– Brene Brown

I am thrilled to announce that on December 9th of this year, I’ll be 50. And to that I say, “Bring it on!”

While life is always a work in progress, never before have I felt this empowered, confident, and worthy of letting my wondrous light shine bright. Yes, I have always been a free-spirit, and I have always worked extremely hard at everything I do – both personally and professionally. But my 40s were particularly transformative for me. For it was during my 40s when I ultimately began to discover that none of the hard work I was doing to live up to the ideals I had set earlier, was actually leading to happiness. I pushed and pushed to succeed, yet eventually my emotional structure broke down.

In order to rebuild, I knew I had to step inward, as the first step to healing is always within. I knew I had to self-examine, even more so and deeper than I had already been doing for so many years. This often meant going to very dark places in order to come out the other side. Because the only way out is through. And it is the dark times, the adversity, and the challenges that offer the most opportunity for growth. And I learned so much! I learned that dimming my light, and making myself small so that others might feel big does not serve me, nor does it serve the rest of the world. It in fact provided a false sense of protection. I also learned to change my relationship to the past, therefore giving it new meaning. In doing so, I was able to find my voice and become my complete authentic self again. I was able to relearn how to love myself, and remember that I am worthy, and I was born worthy, which is the road toward ultimate freedom.

We all are born whole, worthy of love, ready to love unconditionally, and open to receiving unconditional love. But things happen along the way to disturb this natural state. If we are fortunate, we get back to living the life we are meant to live, fulfilling our true life’s purpose, and letting our light shine bright. Once we have reaffirmed our worthiness, and re-discovered our ability to love ourselves, we can then empower ourselves to do the work, let go of fear, and make it through the pain safely. And we must remember that each of us had a purpose long before anyone else offered an opinion, a critique, an admonition, or a doubt.

“I am not what happened to me; I am what I choose to become.”
– C. G. Jung

Aging is beautiful and powerful. Every single size, shape, color, ability, wrinkle, and scar is beautiful. Beyond believing that, when we dig deep, we renew ourselves and cultivate our inner beauty allowing it to shine through. As I take stock, I choose to own my age – with all of its beauty, wonder, heartache, tears, joy, growth, and humanness. And while I step into a new decade with its endless possibilities for discovery, joy, health, and happiness, I will boldly grab the opportunity to continue my growth, and express my gifts, my power, and my light.

To live your truth and find your wholeness, your authenticity, your voice, and your light, you must remember that you are worthy. When we are in this worthy state with which we came into this world – free, joyful, present, happy, accessible – life comes to us easily and great things follow. Your life takes shape from many places, including your passions and your challenges, your goals and your setbacks, your deepest dreams, and your most profound longings. But most of all, your life takes shape from you. So let people see the real, imperfect, flawed, quirky, weird, beautiful, special, magical person that you are. What you will discover through this exploration may surprise you. It also may excite you, open and challenge you, and ultimately reveal you to yourself.

As I near this milestone, my joy and excitement continue to grow. And I am proud – proud of the lessons I have learned and the perseverance with which I have learned them. So here I am, welcoming a milestone birthday and thrilled to continue following the call to be inspired by everything I am and everything I am still becoming. I can’t wait to celebrate as I embrace 50 in all of its glory. Here’s to the next 50!

“In the process of letting go you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.”
– Deepak Chopra