101 Ways to Move Forward After A Midlife Divorce

Tip #83. Talk to an old person. Respectfully go up to an old person in the grocery store or at church or at any other gathering. Approach them cautiously and non-threateningly. And don’t tell them you want to talk to an old person! Find someone at least 75 or older and ask him or her the most important lesson they have learned in life. Take a clipboard and a pad of paper. Tell them you are doing a personal survey (which you are.) See what people who have had a lifetime of experience think as they consider what piece of life information was most valuable to them. Ask your parent or an uncle or aunt or even a complete stranger. (Sometimes a complete stranger is best because they aren’t trying to protect a reputation or send you any kind personal agenda message.) See what has made a difference. See what empowering advice or concrete wisdom has served them well through the years. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own world of midlife divorce and the trials and sadness involved in the recovery that we lose site of the incredibly powerful, liberating lessons we are learning on the way. Most lessons aren’t clear until the storm is over. Today let’s try to learn something in the middle of the mess and see if it doesn’t change our perspective about our own life story and what wisdom we can take away from this journey.