Seeing your reflection in words

Have you ever started to read something and been taken aback/astounded/puzzled that you find your self looking at, well, yourself?

That happened to me this morning when I was reading an article about Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlinson, two of my favourite women, especially in their roles in Grace and Frankie.

“My dad was married five times,” the actress, 83, recently told Harper’s Bazaar in an “Explains it All” video. “So I stopped at three, realizing that I just wasn’t dealt a hand that made me good at relationships.

She attributes losing herself in those relationships to a natural chameleonic quality, which she explained in Bazaar’s print interview. “Part of the reason I get into a relationship with a man is because I feel that he can take me down a new path,” she said. “I’m attracted to people who can teach me things and whose lives are different from mine, and so I give myself over to that.”

That mini epiphany launched Fonda into a deep-dive reflection on her own life. To figure out where she needed to go, she had to learn where she’d been. “I realized that I’m not afraid of dying but I’m afraid of having regrets,” she explained. “It wasn’t until I was finally single at 62 that I began to feel whole, feel that I was where I was supposed to be.”

“The more you can be intentional about how you’re living, the better,” she said. “You can’t make your life longer, but you can make it deeper … by being intentional.”

I thought, wow! that is me. talking to me. && Disclaimer, **Do not go by the picture and think that is me. NO reflection there! Ha ha.

I was about the same age, 62, when I discovered I was happiest alone uncoupled, that I had neither the skills nor desire to be married.

That out loud realization made this an A1 Day! I am not the only one who feels that way! Yay!!

A few photos from gettyimages.ca that brighten my day

Pure joy!!

I have friends and family that have partnered for decades, talking 5 and 6 here and I admire them. But now I no longer wonder ’what is wrong with me?’

It is what it is and it isn’t a bad thing at all. As a matter of fact it is wonderful!

So that’s about all the wisdom here at North of 43 today!

Chris G May 5th, 22

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