After decades of ‘sameness,’ my life is changing shape…quickly. But contrary to popular opinion, it isn’t getting smaller. I may have downsized my dwelling, but my life hasn’t shrunk along with it. My life’s just transitioning…morphing into a different shape and I am in the throes of racing alongside it in an attempt to hurl myself through the window and get back into the driver’s seat. The idea of ‘downsizing’ feels loaded with innuendo…like a euphemism for a smaller life? My space might be smaller, but my life certainly isn’t. I’m not downsizing. I’m rightsizing.
Part of the challenge of ‘rightsizing’ has been melding my life and my new space, a quest which has coincided with this deep-seated yearning to feel leaner, lighter and less encumbered by the collective weight of a lifetime of accumulation. But it’s not just the stuff; it’s also the responsibilities, friendships, identities and invisible name tags that have defined who I am for so long.
The time has come to peel back and examine all the complex layers of life and make space for all the beautiful unknowns that lie ahead (like the inevitable proposal from Lenny Kravitz, which will necessitate my swift move to LA). I need to release what was, to make room for what is yet to come, by freeing up space in my head, my house and my heart. By letting go, not just of stuff but also old habits and thoughts that no longer serve me, and even some friendships (If any friends are reading this…I’m definitely not talking about you).
I’m not advocating a midlife fire sale, more of a controlled ‘life back burn’, as a way of promoting new growth and renewal. It feels liberating to lighten the load of life…to slowly shed all the excess baggage and moving to a more nimble, ‘carry-on’-only life; because as Carl Jung said; “We cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of life’s morning, for what was great in the morning will be little at evening and what in the morning was true, at evening will have become a lie.”
Ang Galloway is an Australian-based writer, MEA alum, and midlife explorer. She has just completed her first book – “Coming Of Sage.” You can read more of her stories on her blog at www.angiam.com.au