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Erika Andersen's avatar

This is so good and useful, Avivah.

Looking back, we spent almost 5 years shifting our life from the US to Spain - and it was only last year that we fully realized that’s what we were doing!

And it took me about 2 years to shift into my new (and more appropriate to this stage of my life) relationship with my business -

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox's avatar

Ah, the clarity of the rear view mirror!

Erika Andersen's avatar

😏

Constructing Confidence's avatar

I am so happy to find this Avivah. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and these resources for a new chapter and (re)finding our confidence as life shifts.

Melissa Richardson's avatar

I didn’t “let something genuinely new emerge — rather than grasping too quickly for the next role, the next identity, the next answer that recreates a version of the life they’ve already outgrown.” I jumped into a new venture and had to exit when I realised the mistake. I’ve spent the last 18 months researching modern grandparenting, and writing a book about how to mentor grandchildren in a rapidly changing world. Who knows what’s next, after the book comes out in July? I’m waiting to see what presents itself.

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox's avatar

The majority of people want to rush through the discomfort of ambiguity and invisibility of their future shores. Can’t wait to see the new book after a week with my little Glam’daughters.

Melissa Richardson's avatar

I’ll send you an advance copy when it’s ready, if you like. I just spent a week with two grandsons. Exhausting but wonderful. It’s incredible the conversations you can have with a nearly 10-year-old. And observing his generosity with his much younger brother is teaching me a lot.

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox's avatar

Would love it! 🙏

Dr Marc B Cooper's avatar

Between 3 and 4-Quarters, there's the bardo. The bardo comes out of Tibetan Buddhism, especially the teachings associated with Tibetan Buddhism and texts like the Bardo Thodol.

“Bardo” simply means an in-between state.

A transition. A gap. A passage.

Not just after death—though that’s where it’s most famously used.

What is the bardo?

Life is broken into phases, and between those phases… there’s a bardo.

In the bardo, you’re…

• Between past and future

• Between one identity and the next

• Between who you were and what’s now required

My way of distinguishing the bardo is...

The bardo is a structural gap.

It’s what happens when:

• The narrative drops

• The identity loosens

• The familiar way of being is no longer available

Most people rush to fill that gap.

An Elder doesn’t.

An Elder can stand in the bardo without grabbing for the next version of themselves, which is most often past-based, identity-based, and ego-laden. No, an Elder can be in the bardo without grasping because they know if they are patient, attentive, and unhurried, a new way of being, along with a new future, becomes available.