The Galapagos trip turned out to be the consummation of the Love Story article series I wrote for Sixty and Me, which covered self-love, love for friends, and mature love.
This article will describe a little about the adventure as well as the Valentine’s marriage proposal.
Spoiler alert: I said “Yes.”
It was a long day! I flew from the west coast in the US. Most flights connect through Panama, a delightful airport. Then it is on to Guayaquil, Ecuador. If you make the same trip, I recommend spending a day there if you can. It is the largest city in Ecuador. Enjoy walking the Malecon along the Guayas River and find a good place to eat. You will enjoy the street performers and Ecuadorian people.
Then on to the Galapagos, usually using LATAM airlines. It is a two-hour flight.
Finally, we arrive at truly intimate committed love as the third area of bringing love into your life. Our journey to expand and deepen love in life has taken us from self-love to heart-based friendships. Now we will consider committed, intimate relationships.
Notice that in the below exploration of committed intimacy, does not need to include romance. These healthy, deep relationships can exist without a romantic aspect. Still, if you are looking for romance, certainly committed intimacy should be expressed in the love you are seeking.
If you are in an established relationship, consider what it might mean to deepen it and fall in love all over again.
Intimacy implies that you, as a mate/lover/companion, are truly authentic and vulnerable with your partner; your...
This is the second of three articles to help us create more love in life. A life filled with love vibes will help keep you healthy and happy. Spread the love.
We are all familiar with the adage, “If you want a friend, be a friend.” I am living proof that it is true! The second step I took on my journey into love was to mindfully nurture and expand my circle of woman-friends. Remember, this is after spending time learning to love me… the real me.
Since the last article about the value of self-love, you have tuned into loving yourself. Hopefully, you have found some ways for your self-love to flourish. Know that others recognize the energy of self-love and that it is attractive. Others are drawn to it. With it you are more available for friendship.
If you are anything like me when...
This is the first of three articles to help us create more love in life – healing, calming, joyous, revitalizing love. After all, we are getting ready for Valentine’s Day! This was first published in Sixtyandme https://sixtyandme.com/love-story-self-love/https://sixtyandme.com/love-story-self-love/
According to Harvard Health, social connections and support can improve health and increase longevity. Of course, we enjoy being in good relationships, but did you know they can influence our health just as sleeping and eating well?
Clearly, there is value in ensuring we are happy and complete on the relationship front. Where to begin?
We are defining ‘love’ broadly – love for yourself, love in close personal relationships, and intimate relationships such as romance.
Each is an essential component of a life rich in relationships and love. We will explore each in the order of how...
Originally published at https://sixtyandme.com/retirement-purpose-question/
“SO, NOW WHAT?” RETIREMENT QUESTION #2
In earlier stages of life – adolescence, young adult, midlife – our life focus usually is prescribed by society and family values. Thus, we generally know what is expected of us. For example, upon graduation from high school, we go on for more education/training/apprenticeship.
Admittedly, some of us may have been rebels, but in the end, most of us followed the norms, albeit stretching those norms just a bit as our generation has been known to do.
There is little if any...
If you have ever shopped at Macy’s over the holidays, you know they use the word “Believe” as part of their branding. This is an invitation to bring “Believe” truly into your life in the New Year… and leave the old resolution as a goal or wish behind.
How is this different than making a resolution? Let’s take a look.
What you want to create in 2022 must come from your deep and true inner desires. Give yourself the gift of pausing in this busy time of year to love yourself. Ask yourself, your inner wisdom, what you truly desire in the coming year.
This is not what a friend is doing or fixing something that our society or someone you know has said you should do. This is your life, and you know what is...
Originally published at https://sixtyandme.com/comfort-and-dreams/.
Here we are in our 60s, finally done with raising a family, if we chose to do that, and perhaps enjoying grandchildren now. We are done with the responsibilities of a professional life… or at least one that we must pursue to provide for ourselves and family and build our professional identity.
It is time to kick back, have fun, and relax. We can sleep in if we want or read for an entire afternoon. Some of us must augment our retirement income, but relative to most of the world we enjoy many privileges of the good life. This is the glorious time we have waited for all these years. We have earned our comfort.
This article was originally published at Sixty and Me
The inner voice is often reacting to being asked the question at all. Notice your own response. Are you thinking, “You tell them!” or “It is not their business?”
Let’s take a look at what might be meant by that question in the first place. It might not be about you at all, but more about the person asking. Perhaps there is a way to help others better understand retirement and what is possible. We are their role models!
One interpretation is that the question means, “What is...
Originally published in https://sixtyandme.com/wise-women-season/
WISE WOMEN CHOOSE WHAT IS IN SEASON
BY ARDITH BOWMAN JULY 13, 2021 MINDSET
So far, I have written three articles that addressed the importance of feeling a sense of purpose in life, describing the three pillars that can ignite and cultivate your purpose. We have explored:
A Season for Everything
It is said, to everything there is a season. For some of us, our purpose is focused on caring for parents, family and/or work responsibilities. Some of us are exploring what we want next in life. Such freedom is both exhilarating/exciting and perhaps intimidating. Know we each have a choice. Some of the options we choose may include:
We continue to explore the three pillars that support you creating a life of meaning and purpose. The first pillar is strengthening your relationship with your own wisdom and guidance. The second is aligning yourself with the abundance of life.
Now, drum roll, we will examine how your relationship with others can help you attract, recognize and accept the support you need to create the life you want. Claire Zammit of Feminine Power™ says it all – You can’t become yourself by yourself.
Sometimes women have a way of disappearing, resulting in a sense of isolation. One way is to always focus on others and deflect any personal attention. Another way is to buy into the story that to receive support is weak, thus our work is to not ask for – or even look like...
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