Midlife change!

We are both physical beings and spiritual beings. I’m comfortable with the idea of the physical being and reminded that I am one every time I stub my toe and bump my head (a separation of about 1.75 meters). My spiritual being is a bit more of a challenge. I definitely have a life force that animates me and I believe in Jung’s Collective Unconscious, but I don’t follow any religion and I don’t believe in a grey-haired-old-man on a cloud.

So my midlife crisis took the form of an inner journey to explore these two Me s. What I came back with was a different way of looking at myself. I now saw that I am both a conditioned, Civilised Man and a free, Wild Man.

My Civilised Man lives in the physical world. He wants facts, logic, structure and clear answers. He wants proof.

My Wild Man lives in the spiritual world. He accepts what is, here and now. He is my higher self.

We all know our Civilised Man well – he’s the one that gets us up in the morning, into the traffic, 8 to 10 hours in the office, back into the traffic, home too late to play with the kids. We know our Wild Man as well; he’s the artist, the lover, the free spirit within us. But the way that society has been set up, our Wild Man is a problem. So we stuff him down deep inside, lock him up in a cage of rules and ignore his shouts for release.

Until, sometime between 35 and 42, we hit the wall. At 20 we had big dreams and plans. At 40 we’ve achieved them all – or not! Either way we sit with the question. Now what?

The Civilised Man’s world is under attack! The Wild Man has broken free and he’s on the move. Where’s he going to take you? To an Ashram in India? To an attempt on Everest? To a boat on the high seas? To more time at home with your wife and kids? All you can hear is his voice telling you that there is more to life.

Welcome to your midlife crisis.

Author: Alan Maguire. His interest is to assist men through the transitions they go through in their lives. His website www.transitionsandchange.com provides insights, guidelines and a forum where men can "talk" to each other about the changes that are happening in their lives.