Silver Linings (40+)

I'm not 40 yet, I'm just here to eat the Sun.
Also, fuck da police.

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John K said:
That’s very true and very poetic. Long before then I’ll be cremated so most of me will be away with the wind and the clouds, and I’m very happy with that :).

In fact thinking about it .... we replace all the atoms in our bodies over and again with time so I guess a lot of what was me is already out there.

Actually I’m not very bothered what happens to my body once I’m gone. I’ve never identified with it at the best of times - it hosts me but I’ve never felt that it is me. It will just be an empty shell. There are some things that would be a bit off though. I wouldn’t want to sling it into the black hole at the centre of the galaxy - that feels like a violation of some sort, don’t know why.
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How I expect to be “interned”. ;)

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:<3white:​

Asa said:
@Skarekrow and @John K, well now I want to make animation art of the end times where the planets are "eaten" by our sun and call it, "We Are All One".
Sorry, that is how my sense of humor works. :tearsofjoy:
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You know you have everyone very excited about this now!
We gotta have at least a cover sketch of this amazing comic yet to exist!
:<3white:
Plleeeaaasee?
 
Qualified for this a few months ago, but didn't know what to write so I avoided it :D.

I know at least two friends who turned 40 a few years before me, and so it never seemed like a huge change for them. But I did see a confidence there, or a general sense of feeling settled in who you are. But everyone still struggles, and that's probably the most surprising thing. Everyone has their struggle, so I hate that I put that pressure on myself to be feel as if I somehow had to have everything figured out by this point when life just goes on. You just make the best of things. So, nothing really changes.

Actually, what I've loved the most about getting older is accepting the good and bad, and not having to pretend that life is a bed of roses or that things will always work out. I can be honest about things with myself about myself, and not hide. Coolest part of this is that everyone's journey is different, regardless of age. Two people may be the same age, but be ages apart in life and experience. We each have our own journeys. And that's what makes getting older so amazing. You learn that maybe there is more depth to your personality than you thought possible.

I'm also learning that as we get older, we can develop aspects of our personality in ways you don't expect. You may mellow out or find that you've more to work with to deal with things as life happens, because you can draw on more experiences, and you have some perspective. I mean, if I could meet my 16 or 25 year old self, I would've been such a different person today. I wished I could have prepped and warned her. But that would be wrong. I would've taken away her right to grow and learn on her own from all these experiences. So, I'll just have to visit her through memories, and appreciate the journey she made to now.
 
Gaze said:
Qualified for this a few months ago, but didn't know what to write so I avoided it :D.

I know at least two friends who turned 40 a few years before me, and so it never seemed like a huge change for them. But I did see a confidence there, or a general sense of feeling settled in who you are. But everyone still struggles, and that's probably the most surprising thing. Everyone has their struggle, so I hate that I put that pressure on myself to be feel as if I somehow had to have everything figured out by this point when life just goes on. You just make the best of things. So, nothing really changes.

Actually, what I've loved the most about getting older is accepting the good and bad, and not having to pretend that life is a bed of roses or that things will always work out. I can be honest about things with myself about myself, and not hide. Coolest part of this is that everyone's journey is different, regardless of age. Two people may be the same age, but be ages apart in life and experience. We each have our own journeys. And that's what makes getting older so amazing. You learn that maybe there is more depth to your personality than you thought possible.

I'm also learning that as we get older, we can develop aspects of our personality in ways you don't expect. You may mellow out or find that you've more to work with to deal with things as life happens, because you can draw on more experiences, and you have some perspective. I mean, if I could meet my 16 or 25 year old self, I would've been such a different person today. I wished I could have prepped and warned her. But that would be wrong. I would've taken away her right to grow and learn on her own from all these experiences. So, I'll just have to visit her through memories, and appreciate the journey she made to now.
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I love the way you expressed this.

If you suddenly found yourself, say, 16 years old again, but with the life experience you have now, would you do things differently? We probably all would of course. It’s not just the knocks and bumps and recoveries, but knowledge as well. Understanding my mbti type would probably lead me down different career paths. I must say though that having been retired for 10 years, I wouldn’t like having to go back into employment again :neutral:.
 
@Gaze, what a lovely way to describe this milestone. Welcome to your 40s!

Whenever the topic of going back in time with the knowledge I have now, or being allowed to tell my younger self advice comes up I may be the only one who has a grocery list of things I would absolutely do differently. I've felt some middle-aged angst toward my mother over this lately and I've considered writing about it here because it is an interesting story, but I instead decided to write a short story about it, fictionalizing my experiences for the protagonist. It stems from my mother grooming me to be a good wife and insisting I stay on a path toward marrying well and being the right type of wife. In order to do this she stripped me of all avenues to pursue my interests. I fumbled toward the wrong avenue looking for an escape route and I messed up my academic route as well. I know I'm much too old to blame my parents for my life. As soon as you are out of college your life is 100% your own responsibility. I'm at the point right now where I have found one of the paths I lost long ago and I see the positive results of being on that path. This caused me to reflect. It also allowed me to see my teen years from a different angle and at nearly 50 I still support that teenage girl's response, believe that response was justified, and that my mother was wrong. Given the chance to go back, I would encourage that teenager to follow the path I am just now catching up with.

There is a cute movie about time travel where the protagonist can go back in time to fix things and I've actually fantasized about how I could do this, follow the correct path, and still find all my cats, dogs, and meet my SO to keep them in my timeline.
 
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