Who Do I Want To Be?
Hi Everyone,
I am honored to have Trudi Evans as a guest blogger for us for this coming week. She is truly a force to be reckoned with and I think you will find her posts touching, funny, and dead on. It is my pleasure to introduce to you Trudi Evans...
"Trudi Evans is the publisher of As We Are Magazine (http://www.aswearemagazine.com) – a new space on the web for women to feel good, speak out and be heard. When she's not promoting the magazine, Trudi acts as the president of the board of directors for the Eating Disorders Action Group (http://www.edag.ca), plays in the sprinkler with her 4 ½ year old son, hangs out with her husband of ten years, and chases the cat back into the house. She is currently growing pumpkins in containers on her deck and thinking about female super heroes."
Who Do I Want To Be?
Even as a teenager, I often wondered what kind of older woman I would be. Now, in my thirties, I think about it regularly. Who will I be when I am 65? And I let that dream of who I want to become, infuse my choices about who I am today. In my mind, I see myself with long grey hair flowing about my shoulders, wearing a long embroidered, ethnic-inspired dress. I am smiling. I am so incredibly comfortable in my skin. I see myself outside in the warm sun, pulling vegetables from my garden. I am taking a break in my day from my work and activism. I am involved. I'm not tied to this image forever, but I realize that some of my deepest values are depicted here.
1. Love thyself. Having grey hair that isn't coloured to make me look younger and being happy regardless of my shape or size is important to me. It is what I work on every day of my life. Well, maybe not the graying hair since mine isn't grey yet. But the self-love is what is important to me.
2. Spend time outdoors. I don't seem myself climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro at any time in my life, but I would like to learn to grow a good vegetable garden. Right now, I stick to container gardening – I recognize my own limitations with time and dedication, but someday, I am going to hoe the row.
3. Involvement. One of my favourite holiday traditions is to watch Charlie Brown's Christmas. In it, Charlie can't find his holiday mojo and consults with Lucy who wisely tells him that what he needs is involvement. I am much like Charlie, in that when I'm not involved in something, I feel like a bit of a slug. I don't need to be on the go all the time, but I need to be a part of things that are bigger than me. This year, I've been actively involved with a local eating disorders group. It has inspired me to want to do other things and really find ways to make an impact in my community. It has also connected me to some really amazing people, and that is often enough.
It's possible that when I'm 65, the idea of looking like an aging hippy won't appeal to me as much as it does now. And what I look like when I get there really won't matter. I could be a highly coiffed, designer clad woman and be just as happy because what is most important is that I stay connected to my values and use those to live now and to guide me into the woman I will become.
I am honored to have Trudi Evans as a guest blogger for us for this coming week. She is truly a force to be reckoned with and I think you will find her posts touching, funny, and dead on. It is my pleasure to introduce to you Trudi Evans...
"Trudi Evans is the publisher of As We Are Magazine (http://www.aswearemagazine.com) – a new space on the web for women to feel good, speak out and be heard. When she's not promoting the magazine, Trudi acts as the president of the board of directors for the Eating Disorders Action Group (http://www.edag.ca), plays in the sprinkler with her 4 ½ year old son, hangs out with her husband of ten years, and chases the cat back into the house. She is currently growing pumpkins in containers on her deck and thinking about female super heroes."
Who Do I Want To Be?
Even as a teenager, I often wondered what kind of older woman I would be. Now, in my thirties, I think about it regularly. Who will I be when I am 65? And I let that dream of who I want to become, infuse my choices about who I am today. In my mind, I see myself with long grey hair flowing about my shoulders, wearing a long embroidered, ethnic-inspired dress. I am smiling. I am so incredibly comfortable in my skin. I see myself outside in the warm sun, pulling vegetables from my garden. I am taking a break in my day from my work and activism. I am involved. I'm not tied to this image forever, but I realize that some of my deepest values are depicted here.
1. Love thyself. Having grey hair that isn't coloured to make me look younger and being happy regardless of my shape or size is important to me. It is what I work on every day of my life. Well, maybe not the graying hair since mine isn't grey yet. But the self-love is what is important to me.
2. Spend time outdoors. I don't seem myself climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro at any time in my life, but I would like to learn to grow a good vegetable garden. Right now, I stick to container gardening – I recognize my own limitations with time and dedication, but someday, I am going to hoe the row.
3. Involvement. One of my favourite holiday traditions is to watch Charlie Brown's Christmas. In it, Charlie can't find his holiday mojo and consults with Lucy who wisely tells him that what he needs is involvement. I am much like Charlie, in that when I'm not involved in something, I feel like a bit of a slug. I don't need to be on the go all the time, but I need to be a part of things that are bigger than me. This year, I've been actively involved with a local eating disorders group. It has inspired me to want to do other things and really find ways to make an impact in my community. It has also connected me to some really amazing people, and that is often enough.
It's possible that when I'm 65, the idea of looking like an aging hippy won't appeal to me as much as it does now. And what I look like when I get there really won't matter. I could be a highly coiffed, designer clad woman and be just as happy because what is most important is that I stay connected to my values and use those to live now and to guide me into the woman I will become.
posted by Jess at 11:23 AM
3 Comments:
I don't think ahead about who I will be but I should. Thanks.
This morning, just before I woke up, I was dreaming about CNN doing a feature story about this blog, Jess and Trudi's guestblog spot. I know it was only a dream, but the coverage and the images were fabulous. LOL!
I think often about this question of 'who do i want to be.' But I also look back to when I was a child and a teen and a young adult, and compare what I thought THEN about who i wanted to be with who I've become. Some of the details have changed over the years but at the core of my personality -- the part that really matters to me -- I'm right on track. Looking ahead, I find it easier to imagine my inner self than my physical self.
Love this post!
Heidi - thanks for commenting!
Writerlust - I want to be the Lusty Writer ha ha. Thanks for the support my friend!
Trudi
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