FREEDOM: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of………50!

It has been an interesting year in respect that I have had a large number of friends who have reached the age of 50!  Some celebrated in grand style and others simply let the day pass as a moment in time.  As each of my friends have reached this milestone in life I began to notice a common embrace among them, they appear to be more relaxed in guiding their own thoughts and not dramatically concerned or hung up on the opinions of others.  It is an amazing freedom when one is not chasing life but instead embracing life as if understanding that life itself will move forward in either instance.  There seems to be an epiphany upon experiencing this life’s milestone when they develop the true freedom to be comfortable in their own skin.

Practically all of my friends crossing this path in life have children, some opposite sex couples and some same sex couples.  I remember being a teenager and thinking WOW 50 years old! How could anyone live that long?  As a young man in my 20’s my thought process shifted to a lack of understanding that anyone over the age of 30 had any purpose, after all once you reach 30, life is simply about work and no play.  Fortunately, I was able to reach the fine old age of 30 and realized I was horribly misguided in my 20’s and as a 30 something began to realize that people in their 40’s and 50’s were actually pretty cool, very insightful and a lot more fun to be around than me as a misguided 20 year old.  Most of my friends during my 30’s were just beginning to get married, though I was in a relationship unfortunately at the time marriage was not a legal process in which we could engage.  This was a huge generational change than that of the generation of my parents and grandparents.  After all my parents were actually parents as teenagers and so were my grandparents, and my parents were grandparents in their 30’s! 

My generation of 30 something’s seemed to be way behind schedule but none the less life powered ahead.  In the approach to 40 many of my generation, some married and some not married began having children, some in their 30’s and some in their 40’s, after all this was a new generation of 30 something’s and they were not going to be held to a pre-historic schedule set forth by the previous generation.  They were also not about to wear the title “older parents” after all most of them did not have too because the pre-K classrooms were filled with children whose parents were in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s!  So I wondered what was driving this change in people holding off marriage and children until a more mature time in their life?  Was social media driving the shift? Was economics a motivating factor? Were medical advancements a trigger?  I am not certain that this was a combination of all of these factors or if none of them were in the minds of this generation.  What I do know is after this year of celebrations and acknowledgments I have concluded each generation drives a cultural shift in society and this generation of 50 something has certainly carved a new road ahead.

There are many commonalities among the people I know that are 50 something, those with children and those without.  The majority of them that are parents of pre-teen children and some have no children at all, that being a choice or other factor.  They are more concerned about the legacy they will leave for their children and their friend’s children and the generations to come than the legacy they are creating for themselves.  They seem perfectly secure in their financial situation regardless of where they fall on the economic or social spectrum.  They are committed to changing the world for the better and more concerned about global events and are willing to participate in activities that express the stabilization of world culture.  And last but not least every one of them are involved in some philanthropic cause that advocates social responsibility.  Has this new generation of 50 something’s driving the force of social change or has this always been the underlying case but in previous generations their voices were softer?  So I am not sure how they got there, maybe I just picked really great friends over the years and am extraordinarily blessed.  But this I do know without a doubt, as you move down the path of life embrace people of all ages and for those of you that have yet to reach this glorious milestone may you always have a: healthy and blessed Life, economic Liberty, in the Pursuit of …….50!