Category: Research

A New Year for the Old Me!

I finally retired from teaching as of September 1 of 2021, and I’m not quite sure I like it yet. Three of my adult children have retired and they keep telling me how much I’m going to love it! Other friends who have retired say that it took up to two years before they felt comfortable being retired. Anyone who knows me well can tell you that I love being active, having a purpose, not sitting still and that I don’t go looking for “fun things to do.”

So I’ve been exploring activities I have enjoyed in the past. Perhaps many of us would find it valuable to take time to remember who we were in a “past life,” i.e., in our younger years. Many surprises will arise out of that exercise.

One revealing event for me came in the form of an old email from my brother. He had sent me a link to a beautiful site called “Trawlers and Tugs Blog.” Sadly, she no longer posts on that site, but she covered beautiful art about working boats.

That site and his email triggered something deep inside me. I realize that as much as I used to enjoy painting with watercolors and messing around with colored chalks, I no longer take time to indulge in anything artistic and I told him so.

It was his answer that made me think. He said, “It bothers me that you don’t take time for yourself to make music, paint, sew, act, direct, etc. All my life I associated those kinds of things with you.” I promised him I would start again.

One of my favorite courses to teach regularly was “Psychology and the Expressive Arts.” And yet in teaching it, I always put my own artistic past aside and simply taught others how to draw on their creativity. Sometimes I got a glimpse of that “old Lucy” when teaching other courses, too, but I always shoved it aside in the interest of the students.

When I find myself re-reading books like Who You Were Meant to Be: A Guide to Finding or Recovering Your Life’s Purpose by Lindsay C. Gibson, Psy.D, or other books about finding “the authentic you,” then I know there is something in my life that needs attention.

I started rummaging around for my art materials, deeply buried in a junk room. When I opened up the first box of pastels, I said “Ohhh!” right out loud. The brilliant colors took my breath away, and tears came into my eyes. I want to put them where I can see them regularly and to remind myself that it’s something I now have time to enjoy in retirement.

Perhaps you are someone who has already re-discovered the “old you” – the authentic you – and are living the life you were meant to live. If so, I congratulate you! My suspicion is that most who will read my post need a reminder to take time this New Year to think about who they are.

I must be authentic if I want to continue to inspire students and friends to be authentic – and creative.

Hau`oli Makahiki Hou!
(Happy New Year!)

Covid Slump?

Have you ever been caught in the doldrums while out sailing? It’s a hard place to be, isn’t it? Waiting for the wind to lift your sails and send you on your way can feel like a thankless and endless chore.

Surely, I’m not the only person who found herself with time to write but ended up worrying about COVID instead! For some reason, I just couldn’t find the energy to do much writing. All that time spent washing my hands, social distancing, putting on a mask, and sanitizing seemed to destroy any creative streak that was trying to surface.

I have been vaccinated, and I still wash my hands, social distance myself, wear my mask, and sanitize frequently, I’m venturing out more, and I think I caught my creative muse peeking around the corner, so maybe she didn’t die after all. Resurrection can happen!

There is a fresh breeze blowing offshore, and perhaps we’ll have full sailing ability soon. Yesterday, after all this time of COVID and a blank brain, I came up with four or five new ideas and plots for books I want to write. Maybe it’s because the past eighteen or more months allowed space for a breeze to blow through the windows of my mind, but for whatever reason, I’m writing again!

I’ve heard that whistling can bring the desired wind, so if you are in the COVID doldrums, go “whistle up the wind!” and get back to your computer.

A hui hou!

Feral Fables

“For centuries, women and men have sought guidance and counsel to help them in processes of change, healing, and transformation.”

That is the first sentence in the introduction to my book, Feral Fables. How many of us have checked the I Ching, or Animal Medicine cards, or the Tarot to see what they have to say to us? Not only is it fun, but it also can be enlightening in some strange and inexplicable way.  

We are spoken to through many avenues. Insights may come like lightning bolts or in a still, small voice. A friend says something that strikes us as relevant to a question we’ve pondered. We hear a conversation that brings sudden understanding to a problem. A dream reveals an answer to a situation. We read a story that becomes more significant each time we read it.

Such is the nature of these fables. This is the sort of book you can have on your cell phone or iPad that you can tuck in your purse or briefcase and so it will be handy at all times. At odd moments, you can pick a fable at random to see what meaning it can bring to your life. Whether you are female or male, youth or elder, there will be something of value in each brief fable.

What is a fable anyway? The dictionary describes it as “a fictitious story meant to teach a moral lesson.” I believe it is more than just a moral lesson. I prefer to say that it shows us “Truth” greater than “truth.” I wrote these to use as I worked with psychology clients who were looking for that Truth in their lives. You can do the same for yourself.

I plan to publish it as hard copy before long, but in the meantime, I suggest that you read it as an e-book. You can get your copy of Feral Fables by clicking on this link.

You can read these fables with the intention of finding clarity on some issue in your life, or maybe the serendipity will surprise you when you read them just for fun. In either case, please let me know your reaction to these wild tales.

Aloha!

OUR FOURTH QUADRANT

As older women we have traveled Joseph Campbell’s mythological “Hero’s Journey” many times in various aspects of our lives. Through our first three quadrants of that journey, we accepted challenges, faced “dragons” and at times were pushed to depths of despair. We learned how to manage the trials and temptations of life, and we developed new insights about our lives.

According to Campbell, this fourth quadrant of the journey we have taken is a time of self-realization, of self-actualization. In my dissertation of 1992, I wrote that the “hero of today dares to seek wholeness and fulfillment through finding new pathways to unknown territory.”

That is an excellent description of the Perennial women I interviewed on my physical journey, my road trip to interview older women. I discovered their insights, what they had in common, and what they are doing in the fourth quadrant of their life journey to stay fulfilled.

Now we are ready to rethink what we can or cannot do as we get older, as we engage in this fourth quadrant of life. Now we have emerged, ready to face anything required of us, ready to find or create “new pathways to unknown territory.” Now we are feeling empowered and blessed.

Would you share with us your ideas about exciting and energizing ways we can live this fourth quadrant? What are you doing?

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