“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”   Ecclesiastes 3:1

“Do we know of any (snowing) so silent and sudden a change?”  Henry David Thoreau, 1858

SEASONS OF LIFE
Poets and artists have created numerous masterpieces to reflect the beauty of spring, summer and autumn.  Human life can be divided into four seasons, too.  Spring season in human life symbolizes innocence.  Summer season is filled with exuberance.  Autumn is the richest harvest time for achievements and reverence.  Albeit winter seems to be bleak and austere externally, its serene breathtaking beauty can only be revealed through the enduring and harsh passage of perseverance.

MID-LIFE TRANSITION
Human life span theories tend to define mid-life transition or mid-life crisis by using ages, i.e., age 35-45 or from late 30s to early 40s.   Due to the health science and technology development, the definition of mid-life for modern men and women should be extended to 40-65 or beyond.  Mid-life transition is no longer limited by a number, the age.  Also the manifestations have come in through a variety of awakening experiences and process, which is more than just buying a sport car, having an affair, or dating a younger individual.

So, first a story:

SOCIAL SHOCK WAVES
When the news of the death of Robin Williams, one of the most achieved and well-known comedians, was broadcast in the media on August 11, 2014, I happened to be in Silicon Valley handling a similar clinical emergency.  The death of Robin Williams still shocked people through the core even after four months.  The life of Robin Williams is one of the best definitions and representations of the ultimate American success; that is, starting as a talented young artist, decorated with a dazzling career, surrounded by shining awards and billions of fans in a worldwide stage, and reaching the climax of the twinkling stardom in the brightest Tinseltown, Hollywood.  All eyes were on him and waiting for more magic and laughter.  People try to emulate and follow his footsteps in order to reach the same goal but found themselves scratching their heads and dumbfound about the golden route to stardom ended with such an unexpected lonely heart break.  Why?

TO CHANGE OR NOT TO CHANGE
After years of hard work to attain your dreams, no matter it is your degree, job, career, relationship, marriage, body image, interest, or a certain comfortable lifestyle, the comfort and security sets in and gradually turns into routine, boredom, or a strange feeling (unfulfilling numbness and dread).  The paradoxical needs for secure survival and constant invigoration have been built into any organism.  In the pursuit of secure survival or success, the nudge of change has been ignored, pushed to the back burner, or buried in the unawareness until the triggering issue happens.

Let’s do a filling in the blank exercise: My job, my salary, my career, my project, my benefits, my status, my bonus, my image, my big house, my luxurious car, my investment, my disability/ unemployment benefits, my parents’ house, my booze, my medication, my marriage, my shopping habit, my eating habit, my acceptance of overweight image, my comfortable (but unhealthy) lifestyle, etc.

Formula:  Letting go of _________ I have worked so hard to attain for years is a huge risk.

Filling in the first bland space can be my life, my marriage, my work, etc.

WAKEUP CALL

Even though we have innate desire for innovation, the voice for revival usually is overshadowed or sabotaged by the needs for predictable security and physical comfort until the unexpected alarm starts ringing.  The most common alarms are physical illness, severe medical diagnosis, your loved one’s terminal illness and death, death of your relationship (breakup, extra marital affairs, divorce), death of your career (lack of career future, dead end job, layoff, job loss, unemployment), death of your companionship (pets, friends, partners) and death of hope and dream (depression, desperation, desolation).

Now try filling in the second line can be any of the following: hit by stroke, hit by heart attack, hit by panic attack, diagnosed with cancer, diagnosed with diabetes or hypertension or high cholesterol, informed that my husband/wife is seeing someone else, informed that I am fired, the shocking news of my loved one’s untimely death, etc.

Formula:  I am quite comfortable about _________ until I was informed that

I have been ___________.

AWAKENING TO ALIVENESS
Wake up calls are always happening around us at any age.  However, people tend to ignore them until the most common wake up calls mentioned in the previous paragraphs happen to themselves which is in average age range from 44-48 traditionally.  But I found the average age is lower (age 25-35) for younger generations due to unhealthy and addictive lifestyles and the average age is higher (age 45-65) for older generations if they choose to live a unhealthy lifestyle.

Diseases are the manifestation of dysfunctional organs/organisms.  Mental illnesses are the manifestation of dysfunctional relationships, thoughts, emotions, behavioral patterns.  Either physical diseases or mental illnesses tend to reinforce another domain negatively and develop into an unhealthy lifestyle.  By sending you the alarming warnings, your body, soul, or spirit is trying to break away from unhealthy food, toxic working environments, abusive relationships, lackadaisical sensations, or addictive and harmful habits.  Your internal self is waking up and is hungry for aliveness which has been suppressed by long term starvation and suffocation caused by the lack of healthy nutrients, supportive nurturance, and healthy working and natural environments.

ORGANIC FOOD, ORGANIC ENVIRONMENTS, ORGANIC LIFESTYLES
Organic foods may be one important solution you may want to consider.  Organic foods, also called rainbow foods, demonstrate rainbow colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, black, white, purple) and balanced forms through nature.  Processed foods display attractive presentation and packaging.  Organic relationships demonstrate a wide spectrum of emotions, thoughts and behaviors (happiness, sadness, loss, anger, frustration, hurt, fear, encouragement, excitement, positive or negative cycles).  Abusive personal or working relationships tend to attract people through artificial sweetness, admiring rewards, and possessive attachment to cover up the control and manipulation derived from selfish greed and insecurity.  Organic lifestyle involves biological, psychological and spiritual components.  Organic biological component is not just organic food intake but also physical activities, including walking, running, jumping, exercising indoor or outdoor.  Organic psychological component is to wake up your senses and start to listen, see, taste, smell, touch, feel, cry and laugh.  Organic spiritual domain is to tune into your gentle nudge, low and quiet inner voice, and unhappy or heavy feeling inside yourself and allow yourself to confront your hollow aimless life, to seek help and liberate your suppressed soul and spirit to shed off burdens, breathe happiness freely, taste joy fearlessly, and become whole again for more springs to come.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU!
When I asked my children which trip stands out in their memory, their answers are the most difficult and unbearable hiking trails during the long journey into the wildness in Cascade National Park and Lake Tahoe.  You need to go through Desolation Trail to be able to enjoy the Inspiration Point from the high view point.  When your surroundings are downsized, your loads are lighter and your horizons and perspectives become broader and endless.

I wish that you like the Organic Gift  _________  that I present to you during this winter season of joy, peace, and renewal.

During the holiday season, I wish you and your loved ones “Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays”.

QUOTES ABOUT WINTER

“The dry grasses are not dead… A beautiful form has as much life at one season as another.”  Henry David Thoreau, 1850

“Nature, like an athlete, begins to strip herself in earnest for her contest with her great antagonist Winter.  In the bare trees and twigs what a display of muscle.”  Henry David Thoreau, 1858

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.”  Henry David Thoreau, 1853

Bio:

Dr. Trudy provides online consultation through Skype, Facetime, or telephone. Her website: www.DrTrudy.com.  Tel: 503-439-0514 or 503-895-8360