Something happens when you hit your 40s. A series of changes will make you rethink what really matters to your partner and friends.
This may include:
- If you choose to care for a sick or aging parent
- More and more friends get cancer
- Losing a loved one to death, mental illness, or simply being estranged
- Watch your friends get divorced
- If an autoimmune disease or health problem limits your lifestyle
- Generations after you will make fun of your outfit and wonder if you’re “old” anymore.
- You better stop being hit
- I got what I’ve been chasing all my life, but I realize I’m still unfulfilled
- During the war, you obsess over getting rid of all the wrinkles to keep your face from showing your age.
When some or all of these events occur, you find that your body is no longer invincible, that maintaining your health is no longer passive, and that your life expectancy is getting shorter and shorter.
You have realized that all the factors you have considered so far are very important when evaluating people. How cool they are, how charismatic they are, how many times they’ve been to Burning Man, how good they look, how rich they are.
It doesn’t matter.
What matters is someone who holds your hand while you mourn the loss of a parent.
The point is, even if you have thyroid problems and all the meds make you gain weight, they still see you and love you for who you are.
The important thing is that they stand up for you when you are in the hospital and can’t fight for yourself.
Invest in people who are loyal, kind, generous, supportive and loving. People who will be there for you wholeheartedly, even if the superficial qualities for which you are valued have faded.
And remember to stay true to those values yourself.
