countdown’s on…

So, the big day is fast approaching – the day I for so long dreaded and now can’t wait to celebrate – my 40th birthday. It’s AMAZING what a shift in perspective can do for one’s outlook on life.

I mentioned in my last post my holiday flu epiphany. I confess that when I first wrote the post, I was afraid I may have had a lingering NyQuil hangover and that my newfound liberation would be short lived. Well, I’m stoked to say that my new perspective has stuck. I call it my “midlife awakening.” Forget the crisis everyone talks about. I’ve been “crisising” for far too long, and now it’s time to break free and wake up to my beautiful life.

Last year I started thinking about how I might celebrate entering a new decade. At first I considered a trip to Europe, which I still hope to do one day, but I ultimately decided that I want to celebrate all year long with shorter trips to places in the US I’ve always wanted to visit. And, I’m going to document my travels here. I’m calling it Feasting on Forty.

I looked up the definition of “feast.” Here’s what I found:
1. to eat sumptuously (isn’t that a great word?? “sumptuously”)
2. to dwell with gratification or delight (also great words)
3. noun: day or period of time set aside to commemorate, ritually celebrate or reenact, or anticipate events or seasons that give meaning to an individual (how appropriate is this?!?)

So, my plan is to eat sumptuously, to dwell with delight and to commemorate and ritually celebrate this season of my life! I’M SO EXCITED!!!

Follow me at #feastingonforty on Instagram and Twitter, and stay tuned here.

You see, I’ve discovered that perspective is everything. My life is not perfect, and it isn’t necessarily exactly what I want it to be. But, I have a choice about what meaning I make out of all its imperfection and possibility (see what I did there?!). I choose gratitude. I choose possibility. I choose authentic and courageous living. And, I have to choose it everyday. I am not Pollyanna. And, I’m not suggesting that bad things won’t happen or that I will always feel optimistic or confident. What I am saying is that I’m awake now to what life can be if I stay open, and if I choose to live on purpose.

So, here I go… time to feast on my one wild and precious life! (better late than never!)