100 Years of Becoming: 10 Years at a Time

I believe we grow in thousands of small steps seen best at a distance, a decade at a time. And although I have yet to achieve all ten decades (but have every intention of doing so!) here is my time machine in 10 year glimpses of how we change to become ultimately, who we are:

1 to 10 years: We are brand new, curious as to how our body moves, we taste and touch, experiencing who we belong to, bonding to our family circle, imitating habits and language.

10 to 20 years: We are adolescents, kicking the tire to adulthood, testing our boundaries, flexing our muscles and experimenting with a wider social circle, imitating new habits, clothing, friends and groups.

20's: Now we walk as young adults, pushing our world outward. We hurtle through changes, forming and reforming ideas of what we want to do in life and who we want to become, as if we are constantly changing clothes to see what fits. We see ourselves as individuals, yet part of a greater society.

30's: We have landed on a vision of what we want in life, or have accepted a vision by default. In this decade, we begin to live that idea, growing our strengths, embarking on a career, perhaps starting a family, and taking the first few steps into the world of our own creation.

40's: We have found our way and settled in. Comforted by routine, we have achieved our early goals and now begin to feel complacent and unchallenged. We are circumspect of our values and decisions, our bodies begin to harbor mid-life changes and we dare to envision a second half of our lives life with fresh new interests, perhaps an entirely new life..

50's: Finally! We take our first full stride as confident human beings having reached the pinnacle of our success. We wish we knew then what we know now. We have attained power.

60's: We are masters of our lives, energy abounds as we hone our skills into precise instruments of knowledge and maturity. Others seeks us out to learn from our skills.

70's: We are mentors, docents, curmudgeons, self-assured, respected, at the top of our game. Acclaimed for our achievements, honored for our services, and awarded for our successes, our lives are beacons for the next generation.

80's: We have no patience for fools, we take no guff, we cannot be bullied or pushed around. We have arrived at our full consciousness, fulfilled, and complete. We take the throne of our kingdom, and the responsibility for the world we have made.

90's: No longer looking over our shoulder, we are judgement free of ourselves and others. We pass our legacy forward, and give generously to the future.

100 and beyond: We are remembered for our footsteps.