Dorothy Sander recently published a collection of her most intriguing blog posts. The book has a great title: Life Transitions: Pathway to a Happier You. Dorothy is the founder of Aging Abundantly, the award-winning blog and community for women over fifty. But I think she speaks to ALL ages when she digs into topics like “Sharing Our Stories,” “Expectations,” “Now Is the Time.” She also writes about laughter being “balm for the soul.” Regardless of age, gender, background … we all can use a reminder about the power of joy and laughter. Here to tell you more about her book is the author herself … welcome, Dorothy!
My new book, Life Transitions, Pathway to a Happier You, is largely a collection of my most popular Aging Abundantly blogs. Over a ten year period, from my fifties to my sixties, I faced many life challenges. Writing my blog was the vehicle through which I processed life, and as I wrote I discovered I was far from alone!
The Aging Abundantly Community grew and members requested that I put my blogs into a book. I thought, why not? And so, I began the process. The editing, re-writing, and organizing of the blogs, gave me the opportunity to step back and look at my experience from a distance. Patterns emerged and resulted in a broader shape to the book and new content.
MIDLIFE
AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A HAPPIER LIFE & A HAPPIER YOU
At some point, we all wake up to the awareness that life will one day end. This awareness prompted me to take the steps I needed to take to heal from challenging life experiences. Caring for my aging parents, launching my children, health issues and relationship difficulties. I used what came my way to re-evaluate my beliefs and make choices that aligned my inside world with external realities.
In a nutshell I entered the process of transformation.
Aging Abundantly was created around my fundamental belief that we are all gifted, creative beings, and that midlife and the aging process itself provide exactly what we need to create happier lives. Personal challenges present individually designed opportunities to expand our self-awareness, self-esteem and move toward the greater expression of our gifts. The end goal (not that there is an end to the process) is self-acceptance, inner peace, and sharing our wisdom with the larger world.
THE TRANSFORMATION PROCESS
We enter our middle years carrying with us a wealth of experience. If we look for and evaluate the patterns that emerge, we have the necessary fodder to make significant changes. Our awareness of time limitations provides ready motivation to risk what we might have been unwilling, or unable to risk before.
The book has emerged not only as a collection of blogs, but also as a lens through which others may view their own transformation process. I’m a far different person today than I was when I began the blog, and while the process of change is difficult, I’m deeply grateful for the process. It has led me to a place where I am now stronger, more centered, more aligned inside and out, while knowing, even appreciating, that I will always be a work in progress.
I’m eager to share my journey with others, as I believe that transformation is available to all and worth every second of discomfort it may bring. My hope is that others will seek out the many jewels they carry within … then bring them into the light of day.
Dorothy Sander, M.Div. is also the author of Not Just Quotes, Inspiration for the Ever-Evolving Woman and Caring for Mom, Midlife Reflections. She is the founder of Aging Abundantly, a website and community for women over fifty. Her short stories and poetry and appear in publications online and otherwise. At home in North Carolina with her husband of 37 years and too many cats, she is thrilled to now have her two sons, their wives and one grandson settled nearby. When not writing, and coaching midlifers or “late blooming writers,” Dorothy enjoys a host of activities: gardening, quilting, music, caring for her grandson, and photography.
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