The Final Third: A Reflection on Aging, Wisdom, and Beginning Again
Stepping Into 61 With Intention
As a new year begins — and as I step into 61 — I’ve been doing some deep reflecting.
Not the surface kind. The kind that makes you stop, breathe, and really look at the life you’ve lived.
This season feels different. Quieter. More honest.
Two-Thirds Lived, One-Third Still Ahead
By most accounts, I’m about two-thirds of the way through my life. Which means one-third still ahead.
Instead of fearing that truth, I’m choosing to honour it. Because this part matters.
This final third isn’t about rushing or proving. It’s about living with intention, wisdom, and clarity.
Applying Wisdom to the Life Still to Be Lived
I’m taking the wisdom I’ve gathered — the lessons, the mistakes, the faith, the growth — and I’m intentionally applying it to what’s ahead.
Not perfectly. Not fearfully. But honestly.
This is the season where experience becomes guidance — not regret.
The Years of Doing It All
Looking back, I can see how hard I tried to do it all.
Be everything to everyone.
Be the strong mom.
Be the capable woman.
Be the one who pushed through life not matter how I physically felt. Just do it.
Be the one who tried to prove — to herself and to the world — that she had value.
At the time, it felt noble. Necessary, even.
Now I can see how much of it was survival.
Wisdom I Wasn’t Ready to Hear
If I’m honest, I can also see how much wisdom older women tried to offer me along the way.
Wisdom I didn’t yet have the capacity to receive.
I was busy holding everything together.
Busy doing.
Busy proving.
Busy getting through.
And yet — God wastes nothing.
Not the striving.
Not the quiet suffering.
Not the lessons learned the hard way.
The Beginning of the Final Stretch
So this — this is the beginning of the final stretch.
Not a slowing down, but a deeper rooting.
Not a shrinking, but a refining.
Not an ending, but an awakening.
And slowly, the truths I once avoided are rising to the surface — not to shame me, but to guide me.
More to come.
