Celebrating where we are not where we thought we’d be
35! What a solid, no-nonsense sounding number! It feels like a strong mature age where you’ve gone and gotten settled and have this life stuff pretty much figured out. Because it’s also smack-dab in the midst of your thirties and on the way to the big 4- 0, it’s also a time where a lot of people get wrapped up in where their lives are at the moment versus where they imagined them to be by now.
This week, having my 35th birthday and the 2019 mid-year mark hit at the same time equals double doses of self-reflection. Without a doubt, I could have never imagined at 35 I’d be living in another country, teaching dance as my career, and unmarried with no children. I had no idea I’d have or even want to have my own business, be blessed with an international family of friends , and passionately seek opportunities, growth, and happiness in the ways I have.
Simply put, my life has looked really different from what I thought it would be like, and likely, it always will. Along with that, my ideas of what “should be “ or what success is at any age have had to change. The really great part has been being able to write a new definition that works for me and the circumstances that I find myself in.
At any age, there is a freedom and peace that comes from putting down the yardstick—whether that means comparing ourselves to others’ life paths or even to our own ideas of where we thought we’d be by now. So for 35, I’m celebrating by continuing to get out of the way of my own self-judgment and preconceived notions. I’m blowing out the candles (on so many cakes, thanks guys!) and making wishes for embracing and appreciating this unpredictable life! Wishing you the same!
Keep moving!
xx,
Katie
慶祝「我們的現在」而非「我們的應該」
35歲真的是一個很實在、不胡鬧的數字。因為你累積下來的人生經歷、達到生活的一個穩定、對於你的人生不再懵懂，所以它感覺起來是一個非常強而有力、成熟的年齡 。因為 35 歲正好落於 3 字頭的一半，在前往 4 字頭的路上，所以常常很多人容易在這個時候，拿他們的現在與過去的期許相比。
這周， 2019 過了一半，同時也是我的 35 歲生日，讓我有加倍自省的機會。毫無疑問地，我從來無法想像 35 歲的我會住在另外一個國家、擁有一個教舞的事業、未婚且沒有小孩；我從不曉得我會有甚至想要擁有自己的事業；也從不曉得我會擁有一群來自世界各地的家人、能像我現在這樣充滿熱情地找尋不同的成長機會與屬於我的幸福快樂。
簡單來說，我現在的生活看起來跟我所想像的非常不一樣，而且這件事很有可能會不停地發生。因此我對於「應該」或「成功的定義」產生了不同的想法。很棒的是現在我能夠跳脫眾人的眼光，為我自己的成功下定義。這或許不是一般人眼中的成功，但是它對我而言意義深遠。
無論在任何年齡，當你能放下量尺 ------ 不論是拿自己的人生與別人的相比，或是與自己所期待的人生相比 ------ 總能帶來某種程度的平靜與自由。所以面對 35 歲，我要用持續屏除自我批判與先入為主的觀念來大大慶祝。好，我現在要吹蠟燭了唷～（真的好多的蛋糕，謝謝你們大家）期許自己能擁抱與珍惜這個不可預知的人生！希望你們也是！
繼續前進！
愛你的 Katie
( Anna Liang 譯 )