The wise woman has a wealth of life experience to draw on. She has spent decades bringing up a family, contributing to her community through work and volunteering, and nurturing others.
Now is the time for her to refocus her attention and reassess what is important as she steps into this new part of life. The time of the wise woman brings the opportunity to draw on knowing herself well and living her true essence. There is certainly life to live beyond the age of 50.
What are the characteristic of the Wise Woman?
1. She creates balance in her life
The Wise Woman has the capacity to retain her identity within the relationships in her life. She makes time and allows space for herself and enjoying activities she loves. She takes time for her personal care. She has a strong sense of identity and feeling of self-worth.
Many women enjoy motherhood but may find that they lose a sense of their own identity outside the mother role. When they are emptying their nest, they can no longer hold onto the active role created – nurturing their children. They may lose confidence in their ability to stand confidently and identify themselves outside the role. Who am I if I am not a mother?
2. She fosters deep, nurturing connections
The Wise Woman creates support structures around her so she can maintain connection with the outside world, her friends and interests. These nurturing and meaningful connections continue to be important for women later in life.
Motherhood may have led to feelings of isolation and loneliness. New connections based on shared life experience can form at any time of life. These nurture our sense of well-being and provide opportunities to work with others on contributing to the wider community.
3. She enjoys Self-Awareness and Personal Growth
The Wise Woman can rediscover her needs, desires, gifts and talents. Perhaps during motherhood personal focus was put on the backburner as she prioritized the needs of her family. With her children’s independence she may feel a sense of lacking purpose. Sadness, anxiety and depression may emerge. A void appears where a busy family life existed.
See this as an opportunity to grow, evolve and let go of the previous identity. This can be accomplished by a ritual of completion of the role and a time of personal inner growth. It is possible to create a new unique path that reflects this growth.
4. She chooses Adventure and Purpose
The Wise Woman sees each day as precious. She practices gratitude and presence. She is motivated to seek new adventures. This is the time of fun, excitement and following interests and passions. From this, new purpose can evolve.
Life is a journey. We can live with regret for past choices and sacrifices, feeling life no longer holds joy. We can blame others for our life circumstances. Yet with courage, forgiveness and understanding we can move beyond regret to create the life we love living
5. She thrives in Life
The Wise Woman plans and actions daily practices that sustain her life. She balances rest and activity. She is mindful of her thoughts and emotions and creates ways to express and release what does not serve her.
She builds a sense of skill independence so she can take good care of herself. This may be in financial literacy, technical and practical tasks. She is comfortable seeking advice when needed. She builds competence from the courage to make decisions and act on them.
The alternate is to allow life to ‘just happen’. This can lead to fear of the future, lack of direction and dependence on others.
6. She balances ‘Being’ with ‘Doing’
The Wise Woman prioritises her energy level. Through her ability to switch off from the world and recharge she creates a calm state and spaciousness to inform her daily activity. She appreciates herself, others and living within the world.
When she is in ‘doing’ mode she is not filling her day with a treadmill of activity. At times this is done to avoid negative thoughts and emotions. With mindfulness she can observe and process her inner world.
7. She lives Authentically
The Wise Woman has the courage to voice what is important to her and honour her decisions, particularly on what matters. She lives with a vulnerability and faith in the universe to support her.
Living inauthentically can show up as listening more than sharing in conversation and feeling you are ‘taking up space’ in other people’s lives. When we are not voicing our own needs, we may be operating from a fear of abandonment and lack of vulnerability in our relationships.
The Wise Woman is an evolving creature. She has so much lived experience and wisdom to draw upon. Which of these attributes do you think are most important for women to develop as they age? Are there other attributes that could be added to this list?
Nice post! As a soon to be empty nester, this really resonated for me. Now to put it into practice!
Thank you Jane. Take your time, honour yourself and I encourage you to use these as a guide as you step beyond the empty nest.