Brave Age

I am committed to helping women who are starting over in midlife by providing them a non-judgmental place to be heard, a compassionate place to heal and an expansive space to reignite their dreams.

I've experienced the borderlands...I used to find them fearful and full of uncertainty. These days, not so much. Now they're the resting place where I find my next path of growth.

Are you in the borderlands? - Anne Davin The borderlands is a place depth psychology defines as the space in between made visible by the borders of others. Living as an ex-patriot, working as a change agent or...

Tricia, welcome to Brave Age!

I cut this column out of the Guymon Daily Herald in 1986

..is there a dreamer in you life who needs encouragement? How about you? Do you need a Dream Encourager?

Takes Courage to Show Your Dream
By Erma Bombeck

When I slit open the envelope, a photocopy of a check for $5 fell out. The note with it was simple and direct, “I made this from my poem entitled, ‘Youth.” Thanks for encouraging me.”

Five Bucks! What can you buy with $5 these days? A pint of designer ice cream? One rose? A home furnishing magazine? A pair of pantyhose? Four gallons of gas?

If you’re Sarah, who lives in Louisiana, it can buy euphoria, with side orders of pride, hope and self-esteem and the discovery someone was willing to put a price of your talent.

There’s a lot of Sarahs out there…women who keep their dreams in a private little box hidden from the rest of the world. Occasionally, they take the lid off and look at it just to know it’s still there and then get on with their business of living.

It takes a lot of courage to show your dream to someone else. They might laugh. They might not understand. Worse, they might take it out of the box and drop it and where would you get another one? Dreams are fragile, you know.

Some people, in desperation, give up on dreams. They clean house on day and decide, “This is ridiculous! I’m acting like a small child who refuses to give up a favorite toy.” So, they toss out the contents of the box – the short story, the idea for a business, the college degree, the job they would love to have, the child they want, the trip they would love to take.

Then there are a few, like Sarah, who are willing to take a risk. They take the dream out of the box, put it on and start living it. They lay bare their ego to discover if they are equal to the dream or if they are equal only to the fantasy.

Dreams have only one owner at a time. That’s why dreamers are lonely. No one can help them with the struggle. No one can ease the pain of failure. There are some things they have to do themselves.

I understand the fears and apprehensions of the closet dreamers, but oh how I admire the Mother Teresas, the Geraldine Ferraros, the Samantha Smiths the Christa McAuliffes, the Helen Kellers and, yes, the Sarahs who write poetry at the kitchen table at night. Are they winners? Winning is not what they’re all about. Neither are the rewards.

What is special about them is they’re dreamers who put it on the line. They had the courage to admit what they wanted was just beyond their reach, but if they wanted it badly enough…anything was possible.

They gambled. And for the risk, they were all rewarded with a legacy for others to follow. For some it was a trail that was blazed, and attitude that was changed, a place in history, a thought, a life that was touched.

That’s the difference between them and those who never take their dreams of the box. They leave nothing.

Where is your sacred space and when you're there what new things do you learn about yourself?

This quote is Martha Beck's re-framing of The Golden Rule...

...start with loving yourself. Self-criticism will never create freedom. Be gentle with the person you are, the person you hope to be and the person you become.

I have several people in my life who are starting new lives in new places.

My partner and I are in the process of moving into a "new-to-us" home soon.

This post is about how I simplified the physical, energetic and spiritual process of moving.

Is moving into a new home and/or new life more than packing boxes?

Little Boxes | Brave Age Little boxes on the hillside. Little boxes in a row…

I have the theme song from Weeds, the popular series by Jenji Kohan stuck in my head. “Little Boxes” reminds me of the number of times the last few years I’v…

Well worth the few minutes of reading.

Science Says Lasting Relationships Come Down To 2 Basic Traits It has to do with how people respond to their partners' "bids."

Is it time to change your strategy for investing?

8 Investments that Changed Me as a Woman - Tonya Leigh I grew up in a trailer in rural North Carolina. My closet was skim, filled with a few things my mom had sewn for me and pieces purchased at our local K-Mart. I will be forever grateful for those items. Every week, even if bills were tight, I watched my mom and dad write a …

Emotional pain is useful when we notice what we learn about ourselves...

Martha's Daily Inspiration

Are you ready to feel calm and more at ease during those tough meetings and appointments? I can help you!

Free Self-regulation and Centering Call | Brave Age Free Self-regulation and Centering Call by Donna | Apr 22, 2015 | Midlife Divorce, Promotional | 0 comments There’s a lot on your plate right now. You have many decisions to make and most of them difficult and emotionally heavy. I can help. Feel a little frazzled and unsure about an important de…