Turning 40 - It’s All About the Journey

Forty Things About Turning Forty by Todd

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Hawaii 4-0 by Anne

From Palm Tree Pundit

Today
I’m 40. 40. You know, the number that appears in the Bible whenever
there is testing or trials — the number of days and nights of the flood, the number of years the Israelites wandered in the desert, and the number of days Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan, just to name a few.

So
I could focus on that aspect of turning 40, but I’m not going to do
that. Instead, I’m very thankful. In fact, I’m glad to be turning 40.
I’ve learned a few things along the way, and Lord willing, I’m not
finished learning. To commemorate the day, here are 40 things I’ve
learned, in no particular order:

1. I need the Gospel every day. Not just for Heaven.
2. I’m not always right. (My mom and dad will be really happy to see that!)
3. I have a wonderful husband. And I am right about that!
4. You really can learn to like whole-wheat pasta and brown rice.
5. When your baby cries, it’s okay.
6. Everyone is carrying a burden, even if you can’t see it.
7. Life is a series of adjustments.
8. Time flies.
9. Children grow up.
10. Boys are different from girls.
11. People think about you a lot less than you think they do.
12. When tempted to depression or anxiety, just do the next thing.
13. I’ll never have enough time to read all the books I want to read.
14. I don’t like cold weather.
15. If you didn’t have acne as a teen, you just might have it in your thirties.
16. Digging in the dirt is good for mental health.
17. Typing was one of the most valuable high-school classes I took.
18. A good friend is a precious gift.
19. It’s much more difficult to memorize things as you get older.
20. Basting yourself with baby oil and lying on a tanning blanket is a bad idea. You’ll see the results before you’re 40.
21. Avoiding confrontation never works out well.
22. I’m not the only one who doesn’t enjoy LOTR!
23. It’s okay to admit you don’t like a classic book.
24. Old dogs can learn new tricks.
25. I was stupid to quit piano.
26. Latin rocks!
27. You’re not obligated to answer the phone.
28. I will always have to be a weight watcher.
29. Never use a table as a step ladder.
30. Money spent on trendy clothes or decorative items is usually money I regret spending.
31. When in doubt, delete the post.
32. My mom was right: Tidy up the living areas before you go to bed. It makes for a better start to the next day.
33. My mom and dad were right about a lot of things.
34. Pray as soon as someone asks you to.
35. Always take something to read when you have an appointment. It will help you be patient.
36. Listen more. (actually I’m still learning this one)
37. You never know what you’ll end up doing in life.
38. Cellulite is here to stay.
39. Old habits are really hard to break.
40. I’m still learning.

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40 Quirks for 40 Years by John

I have a few quirky things about me. Those who know me and love me aren’t bothered by them—though they make fun of me at times for some of them. We all have them, but some of mine probably require therapy of some kind.

Before you label me obsessive compulsive or give me any kind of illness read my list and take a look in the mirror.

I am turning 40 on Sunday. So, I thought I would put some kind of a Top 40 list together. I had a lot of options because I love lists. I may do some other Top 40 lists this year but, for starters . . .

Here are 40 of my “quirks”—my peculiar habits, pet peeves, prejudices, and what have you.

1. I hate the phrase “what have you.” As well as “if you will.”

2. If I walk outside in bare feet I must wash them after.

3. I wash my face every time I use the restroom. I am addicted to the feeling of cold water on my face. It’s not a germ thing. It’s an experience thing.

4. If I ever loan you a good paintbrush, just keep it. I don’t want it back. It will never be as clean as I want it when you return it. It is my gift to you.

5. My CD’s are alphabetized by band name or last name of solo artist.

6. If a CD is left out of the case, I freak. Freak.

7. When I put a CD back in the case, I put it in with the title at top. Straight.

8. Same as above with DVD’s (arranged by Title except for collections i.e. Johnny Depp)

9. Shirts in closet arranged by type and color.

10. Can handle only limited amounts of symmetry.

11. I hate plastic utensils and get a little freaked out if someone serves me a meal with them.

12. Paper and wax plates freak me out as well. I will use them if I have to but NEVER if they have gone in the microwave. Don’t ask why.

13. I cannot drink out of plastic cups unless I am drinking a soda from a fountain.

14. I need a shower every day at the beginning of the day before I go anywhere. The only exception is when I am camping in some remote area where there is no water and I will find water. Oh, I will find it.

15. I don’t loan music or books. Unless you are a great friend. Too special to me. Buy your own. If you are starving and can’t buy your own music or books, I will buy you a meal. But, you are not borrowing my music or books.

16. If there is a bee in the room I will go ballistic. I will run out of the house like a little girl. Period. Bees are the devil.

17. I am completely intolerant of dumb people. People who say and do dumb things. You know who I am talking about. People who ask really dumb lack-of-street-sense things.

18. When pastors reference the Book of RevelationS I can’t handle it. Revelation. Tion. No S. One Revelation.

19. I want to punch people in the neck whenever they refer to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Steely Dan, or Think LIzzy as a “him.”

20. I will not share a drink with anyone. Not even my wife. I will French kiss her all day long but I will not share a drink with her. I will not French kiss you all day long however.

21. I drink wine out of the correct glass. Period. No water glass for wine. No “cup” for wine. No Yahtzee cup for wine.

22. There is a correct orientation for a meal when it is set in front of you at a restaurant. I may have to turn the plate around when the server sets it down. If I am having an enchilada with rice and beans, the rice and beans go on the right. Everyone knows this. It is universal. Do not set my plate down with the beans and rice on the left of the enchilada. Thank you.

23. Glass dolls scare me. They are evil and a result of The Fall.

24. Never say “I seen that” or we will never be friends. I “saw” that. OR “I’ve seen that” are correct. “I have seen that” works just as well.

25. If I make a list for the grocery store or any other list, do not add something to my list. Even if it is good. The problem is, I can’t mix your handwriting with mine. It’s like you inviting yourself into a collaborative workspace I never invited you to. Don’t make me write the list again. This is the same for leaning over and drawing a picture in my notebook or moleskine.

26. Beer is not made for cans. Bottles. If you offer me a beer and end up handing me a can, I will drink it so as not to offend you. But, that’s just not the way to treat friends.

27. If I tap out a tune, I cannot stop in the middle of a measure or phrase, etc. I must tap it out to the nearest resolve.

28. I cannot allow the TV to be set at a volume that is an odd number. Don’t let me see you stop the volume on 63 when 64 is right next to it.

29. It is Espresso people. ESPRESSO. Not EXpresso. How long has this stuff been around now? You should know better.

30. I cannot eat a garden salad when someone has mixed in the dressing. I do my own dressing.

31. Having been a painter for so many years and growing up in a painter’s home, I cannot watch anyone paint their home. I especially cannot watch them roll. I can’t watch them use bad brushes. I can’t. I just can’t. I have ended up painting whole houses for people simply because I couldn’t let them do it.

32. I watch movies when they come on TV even if I own the DVD.

33. I don’t like people shouting for me. Come find me. Don’t yell from the other room. If you do and I don’t answer, don’t call again. I heard you the first time. I am ignoring you.

34. I don’t like it when people call me “dear.” UNLESS they are from the south and have that cool accent. Then, they can call me honey, dear, sweetie, sugar, or any combination of those.

35. I can bathe in a lake or river when camping no problem. But, I cannot take a bath to get clean. If I bathe, I must take a shower after. I blame this one on my dad and some comments he made when I was a child about washing my face with the same water that . . . you get the picture.

36. I love falling asleep somewhere with a breeze on my face but I cannot sleep with a fan on me at night.

37. I can drink out of a cold soda can with no ice but if that same soda is poured into a glass without ice I cannot drink it. Unless I am in Europe. In Europe they have not heard of how to make ice yet. It hasn’t been invented.

38. The toilet paper unrolls over the TOP of the roll—not from underneath. Hotels know this. That is how they can fold the end in a little triangle for you. The triangle is the hotel’s nice way of telling you that is the correct way. By the way, you can make the triangle at home. I do. Ask my wife.

39. I cannot sleep with my hand over the side of the bed. It will not happen. I blame this on Creature Features—the 70’s TV show.

40. I am afraid of the dark when I am alone. If someone is with me it is a piece of cake. If I am alone in the house, I sleep with every light on. You think I’m joking, don’t you?

Do you have a list? Even a short list? Share some of your craziness with me and the rest of the world! Leave a comment.

Check out more thoughts from John at Vertizontal

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Forty Things I’ve Done Before Turning Forty by Lucinda

In my blog wanderings and perusals over the past three years, I’ve seen many lists of “Forty Things to do Before I Turn Forty.” By the time I thought of composing my own, my time was seriously running out, and I was faced with either making a list of “Forty Things to Accomplish in the Next Nine Minutes” or of finding a creative alternative. (Allow me to offer a small bit of advice: given a choice between Lots of Potentially Emotionally Unhinging Work or a Creative Alternative, go for the latter.)

My alternative to the “Forty Things to do Before I Turn Forty” list? It needed to be something positive, something affirming, something that would help me appreciate the life I’ve had already and the one I have now rather than laying on the pressure to do more, accomplish more, be more. I needed not a list of things to do, but a list of wonderful things I have done in my first forty years, a list of appreciation and celebration. Therefore…

Forty Things I’ve Done Before Turning Forty

1. Learned to see God as a very real and compassionate Person rather than a Lurker with a Big Board.

2. Convinced my brother to willingly eat mud.

3. Slept in trees.

4. Jumped out of a barn loft.

5. Earned a writing degree, had success with creative pieces, publication, readings, two Pushcart nominations and served a week long term as Poet in Residence at Bryan College.

6. Been proposed to or seriously co-considered marriage five times.

7. Had a sixth man fall to his knees dramatically before me in a public place, spread his arms wide and sing loudly, “Besa me! Besa me mucho!”

8. Promptly married him.

9. Stayed married 17 years to the above to date.

10. Gave birth to two children with a midwife presiding and no meds.

11. Learned to enjoy poetry. Learned to detest poetry. Learned I can’t live without poetry.

12. Enjoyed mathematical theory.

13. Pieced and hand-quilted a quilt from dress scraps.

14. Found out what happens when one puts one end of an electrical cord in one’s mouth while the other end is still in the outlet.

15. Learned to cook, yea, even unto a complete Thanksgiving meal for company.

16. Played the piano and the oboe.

17. Walked barefoot through snow.

18. Danced.

19. Put my brother in a tractor tire, rolled him down a hill and survived my mother’s wrath afterward.

20. Attended wonderful Renaissance festivals.

21. Played the lead onstage in “Once Upon a Mattress.”

22. Sang a solo in Handel’s Messiah.

23. Learned to live without medication for an affective disorder–something a diagnosing doctor said I would never do.

24. Lived amid a passion for learning.

25. Discovered a passion for teaching.

26. Learned to live in the midst of prayer.

27. Made peace with an ongoing and difficult relationship from my past.

28. Learned where I fit in my family.

29. Read thousands of astounding, wonderful books.

30. Tutored and taught writing to amazing people.

31. Moderated for the beautiful ladies of LHM’s Lighthouse and Covenant Women for several years.

32. Given up an addictive and self-destructive way of “coping.”

33. Found the courage to keep/enforce my own boundaries while remaining unruffled.

34. Learned jewelry making.

35. Mentored some incredible young women.

36. Learned to recognize and name flowers, trees and other native plants.

37. Taken up yoga.

38. Kindled a love of books in two children.

39. Laughed nearly every day.

40. Been a student of grace.

More from Lucinda 

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40 Reasons To Enjoy Turning 40

from the DailyRecord.co.uk

A NEW study has revealed 40 is the age when people are most likely to get depressed. The pressures of bringing up kids, relationships and ageing can leave people feeling miserable. But, if like Hollywood actress Ashley Judd you’re about to turn 40, it’s not all doom and gloom. Here Lisa Adams looks at the reasons to be cheerful about hitting the big 4-0

1 LET’S face it, 40 is the new 30 because people are living longer. Centenarians will become unexceptional within your lifetime, and the average life-span around the world is double what it was 200 years ago.

2 THERE’S no need to join Facebook or Bebo - you know who your friends are already.

3 YOU’RE already on the property ladder which means you can actually afford to buy a house.

4 YOU’RE the first generation to benefit from the pill.

5 TAKE some inspiration from talented actress Sharon Stone, who celebrates the big 5-0 in March. Actress Michelle Pfeiffer hits her half century in April and Madonna is 50 in August. Dame Helen Mirren, 62, is at the top of her game and will always be older than you.

6 YOU owned a Chopper bicycle.

7 YOU were around when Scotland beat England at Wembley in 1967.

8 THE first man landing on the moon in 1969 was a part of your childhood.

9 YOU can still remember how to write a letter and even know how to spell.

10 YOU may even have a final salary pension scheme.

11 YOU can remember when telly had only two channels, but you could always find something to watch that wasn’t a repeat.

12 YOU’RE wiser too. After decades of risking burn-out by saying yes to everyone, you should finally have learned to look after yourself and say ‘no’ occasionally.

13 FOR men, don’t despair that your football ambitions are over - more and more footballers are playing into their forties. Celtic boss Gordon Strachan played Premiership football until he was 40, while England star Teddy Sheringham still plays football at 41. Sir Stanley Matthews played until he was 50.

14 MARTINA Navratilova won two grand slam titles in her forties - the mixed doubles at Wimbledon and the Australian Open in 2003 - aged 46.

15 LADIES, the biological clock isn’t ringing just as loud as it used to - Nicole Kidman (40) and Halle Berry (41) are both expecting.

16 YOU can remember when TV sit-coms used to be funny.

17 IN modern times, there has never been a Prime Minister younger than 43 (the age Tony Blair was when he was elected in 1997), so there are still plenty of years ahead for the chance to run the country.

18 OF the 400 richest men in America, 47 are in their forties. Bill Gates, worth a cool Û59billion, is 51.

19 YOU can finally feel proud of your body. Mum-of-two Cindy Crawford, 42, said: “I’m actually happier with my body now than I was then, because the body I have now is the body I’ve worked for.”

20 TWO of the sexiest men on the planet - Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt - are both 44.

21 THE Friends stars are in, or pushing, 40 and still looking great. Only Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry (both 38) are just outside the age bracket.

22 BOOTS NO 7 Protect and Preserve serum has been scientifically proven to work. That guarantees glowing skin for longer for just £16.75.

23 BELIEVE the experts. Psychotherapist Dr Susie Orbach, of the London School of Economics, says women in their 50s are more confident, financially independent and healthier than ever before.

24 STUDIES reveal many women in their 50s are enjoying better sex today than they did when they wereyounger.

25 YOU can save a fortune on hair dye. That’s what former newsreader Anna Ford, 54, discovered after going grey last year. Anna said: “It’s not letting go, it’s more that I don’t want to pretend any longer that I am younger than I am.”

26 Sex and the City’s Carrie said: “Men in their 40s are like the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle: tricky, complicated, and you’re never really sure you got the right answer.”

27 YOU lived through the Eighties the first time around, which means today you’re wise enough to avoid hideous style revivals like luminous clothes, jump suits and leg warmers.

28 TAKE confidence from fashion queen Coco Chanel. She said: “You can be gorgeous at 20, charming at 40 and irresistible for the rest of your life.”

29 A LOT has happened in your life which makes you a better person to sit next to in the pub, according to actress Jodie Foster. She said: “I think that women are more interesting in their forties.”

30 IF you’ve just hit 40, you’ve only got 30 years of work to go.

31 LIFE is only going to get faster. The average age for purchasing a Harley Davidson is now 59.

32 YOU got to hide behind the couch on a Saturday night watching Dr Who the first time around when the Daleks were far scarier than they are today.

33 YOU were old enough to appreciate all the magic of the first Star Wars movie release in 1977.

34 YOU’RE more confident about your sex life, or even lack of it. British women in their 40s and 50s are more likely to have a low sex drive than their European counterparts. But more than a third were happy to say an active sex life was simply no longer important to them.

35 YOU’VE got more money than your kids.

36 YOU’RE old enough to remember one of Scotland’s greatest ever football moments, when Archie Gemmell scored against Holland in the World Cup in 1978.

37 YOU never have to go on a Club 18 to 30 holiday again.

38 YOU learned the hard way to avoid perms after the Eighties.

39 YOU’RE not too cool to borrow your kid’s Nintendo DS and even beat them at their own game.

40 TURNING 40 is actually fabulous - what better excuse can you have to throw a big party?

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Turning 40 by Ellie

In 2003 I wrote a blog about the souls who were born in 1962 and 1963 who were turning 40 and searching. Life, at each stage, is about finding what is important and trying to create balance for oneself and those they interact with. We are discovering how dysfunctional many souls are based on their genetic code.

At age 40 many souls simple ‘crash’ and drop out one way or another.

Age 40 has always been a pivotal time for people in terms of relationships, careers, goals and dreams. In a world that is spiritual evolving, people want to work at a job they are passionate about. Thanks to investments, savings, inheritance, winnings, selling their homes and living off the profits, disability benefits and other things that create income, many chose not to work, take up create pursuits, and look at their life to evaluate who they are and what they are about.

At 40 a failed business or career, especially for someone with no educational background, can leave them with no income. Many people run family businesses that sell or dissolve when they hit 40 leaving them with no way to earn a living as they have no skills, education, or place to apply for work.

At 40, people with the opportunity often change careers and return to school, to do something different. In our reality, most people who are young will change careers many times in their lifetime, so be prepared. Most 40 years old are part of the ever changing computer world where gaining new skills is important.

Physically, at 40, there may be a need to be healthy after a period of neglect. As things may begin to sag a bit, plastic surgery can be another option. In some cases there is a complete makeover.

More than taking care of the physical body, one often looks at their emotional scale - mental health issues and substance abuse or other addictive patterns that need to be removed. To heal the physical body, one must heal the emotional. This can go from interventions, to medication, but it always starts with a person realizing they are out of control and 40 years old is time to face the facts. You can’t heal if you are in denial. Think about who you are hurting besides yourself.

Spirituality: In the 21st century, the quest for change often takes our 40 year old on a spiritual journey. There are endless avenues along the way which include books, sacred trips, classes, yoga, CD’s…whatever the soul attracts by synchronicity. That is the secret.

Romance at 40: The quest to find The One is often rekindled as works on them self and seeks a functional relationship. To become open and consciousness at 40 is to seek a partner of like mind, not a wounded soul, as that takes the person back to that which they have just overcome. Many people seek love through affairs, the transition person, Internet affairs in chat rooms or the like. By 40 one has hopefully made the choice to end a bad relationship or take it to another place. Our motto: “Either it works or it doesn’t.”

At 40, any way you cut it, you are not old and you will seek passion on all levels. You should know what type of relationship works for you, and as you attract partners be able to examine the issues and decided if you want to replay old patterns, have a passionate passing romance, or is this person going to be there for you. Can you be alone? Do you feel cheated?

40 is the age women must seriously look at whether or not they will have a child, if they have not had one. If they plan a child in their 40’s, do they want to have a teenager when they are in their 60’s?

Single people may have to face the facts that they may have to live their lives alone.

Life is not easy, but at 40, it is time to make it easier and more fun.

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Turning 40 is disappointing,scary and exciting by Tracy

18 days until we mark the day that I was pushed into this realm of reality 40 years ago.

Turning 40 is disappointing,scary and exciting.

1. I am not a size 6 like I hoped I’d be
2. My hair is natural a natural, curly MESS
3. I own a house, my favorite car and dog
4. I am going on a cruise for 7 days with my daughter this summer
5. I am presently unemployed
6. I am going back to school in the spring
7. I am writing a book FOR REAL I got almost 200 pages
8. I found a kitten
9. I’m getting rid of the kitten by next week
10. I finally confessed how I feel to a man that I’ve been seeing for 4 yrs
11. I have been a very lonely person for a long time
12. I no longer have close dependable friends in my life
13. My son is homeless
14. My daughter is selfish
15. I am overweight by 80lbs
16. I am being interviewed as Moxy Woman for December and have no documentation of my accomplishments to share
17. My house is still a mess
18. I finished my island
19. My screen door is still not hung but it’s screened and sitting on the front porch ready
20. I found vitamins that I like
21. I am still depressed but I dont want to do meds
22. I am catching up on my netflix movies
23. I have a warrant out for my arrest
24. I am tired of faciliating the women’s group
25. I am going to powerwash my house this week
26. I am going to clean my garage out
27. I love italian toast with extra berries from Empire onWestheimer
28. I don’t eat as much as I used to
29. I like my hair most days
30. I miss my son
31. I really want new friends who live close. My old friends make promises they can’t keep
32. I’m getting my hairdone and a massage on my birthday
33. I love my dog Biko
34. I’m going to major in Psychology/Humanities
35. I need to find Choc-a-bloc
36. I’m scared to get a mammogram
37. I have no plans for New Year’s Eve
38. My brother and his family are supposed to come for Christmas dinner
39. I am still celibate and I’m not sure why
40. I am soooo looking forward to 40!!!!!!!!

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40 thoughts about turning 40

From The Adventures of GrimJeff

Today is my last day in my 30’s, and as I look ahead to the arrival of my 40’s I thought I’d share some of my thoughts/feelings/observations on the subject. Because like it or not, it’s coming.

1) Where has all the time gone? No, I mean really?

2) I guess this means that I’m an adult now. Despite the onset of middle age, I still think of myself as a kid most of the time who’s masquerading as an adult.

3) As cliched as it sounds, you really are as young as you feel.

4) Remember in A Christmas Carol where Scrooge, upon realizing that he is in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come says something like, “I fear you. More than any other spirit that I have encountered”? That’s how I feel about turning 40.

5) What is it with our culture that we tend to see years ending in a “0″ as milestones of some sort?

6) It’s just another birthday.

7) You only turn 40 once, but if you think about it, you only turn 33 once, or 12 once, or 78 once.

Those books about sex over 40 or fitness over 40 or life after 40 really annoy me.

9) As my good friend John says, “We’re at the top of the hill”, as in preparing to be over said hill in the years to come.

10) My first memory is of playing with a toy gorilla in the dirt driveway of my Mom’s first house. It was a trailer. Maybe because it’s my first memory I use it as the frame of reference whenever I look back over my life…

11) I’m more comfortable in my own skin now than I was at 20 and 30.

12) You know, on some deep, irrational level, I thought that I might somehow live forever.

13) Is it a sign of wisdom to say that I genuinely think that I’m wiser now that I’m older?

14) What’s the big deal?

15) It’s a good time to be alive.

16) No, I am NOT writing 80 thoughts about turning 80 when I turn 80…

17) I’m going to be halfway to 80.

18) I wonder if my hairline will recede a lot in my 40’s?

19) Speaking of hair, I’m noticing more “salt” in the “pepper”, if you catch my meaning.

20) I’m only half way through this list? What made me think that I could bang out 40 ideas when I started out writing this?!

21) I wrote that last sentence after sentence 11 so I wouldn’t forget to when I got to it. I’m writing this sentence after writing number 12.

22) Getting back to hair, I don’t mind gray hairs so much from a a color perspective. No, I hate them because they tend to be all twisted and dead.

23) I could die tomorrow.

24) I could live to a ripe old age.

25) At what point does from go from ripe to overripe?

26) Would we age better if we were placed in brown paper bags? You know, like pears?

27) I recently realized that energy has more to do with health habits and less to do with age.

28) I’m glad that my wife and I are close in age.

29) Only 10 more sentences to go!

30) 30 seemed kind of like a big deal, until I got to 40 that is…

31) Someone called me an “Old Soul” a while ago. I was really honored by that.

32) I refuse to grow up!

33) Thanks for reading this far.

34) I’m at peace with this.

35) I can’t believe I’m only 10 years away from 50!

36) I am not over.

37) I am just beginning.

38) I will continue to grow.

39) -The number of lashes Jesus received when held prisoner by the Romans. (40 was said to be fatal).

40) My favorite quote seems appropriate: “Death is nor the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies within us while we live.”

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The top 40 - why women should celebrate turning 40

Ebony, August, 1997 by Laura B. Randolph

Camille Cosby told it to Oprah and Oprah told it to me and, a few weeks ago, I told it to a Sister-friend who was feeling down, distressed and depressed because her life was about to take a dreaded turn. She was turning 40.

What Oprah told me Camille told her and I told my friend is this: “You should be out on your veranda dancing because you are about to experience one of the most magnificent, marvelous events in a woman’s life.”

“Oprah said that?” my friend asked incredulously.

“Well, those weren’t her exact words, but yeah.”

“You swear you’re just not saying it to make me feel better?”

“I swear.”

“Okay,” said my almost-40 friend. “Tell me everything she told You. Leave out nothing. Nada. Not a single word.”

Basically, if I understood Oprah correctly, it all comes down to this. At 40, something magical happens to you–something liberating and rejuvenating and exhilarating. You acquire a healthy disregard for what other people think. You gain the confidence to define yourself boldly and on your own terms. You don’t accept anyone else’s judgments but your own. In short, you stop living your life for other people and start living it for yourself. The force is with you because, at long last, it is in you.

“Before I turned 40, I used to always worry about what everybody thought about everything,” Oprah explained to me. “I get thousands of letters a week, and I used to pick the ones who didn’t like something about me and call them and try to make them like me. I tracked one woman down because she didn’t like my earrings.”

In her pre-40 days, when it was her, not just her earrings or her clothes or her hair, that people didn’t like, their criticism could send her over the edge. “I remember years ago I had a long conversation with Sidney Poitier and I was just weeping to him,” she told me. “And as I sat there crying, he said, `You have to remember you are carrying people’s dreams, and when you are carrying people’s dreams, oftentimes they put burdens on you that are not yours to bear. You have to decide what your dream is for yourself.’”

(more…)

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4-0. by Andrew

I turned forty yesterday.

Everyone I know has an opinion about turning 40, which seems to be a critical year in the life of a modern human being. In their responsivness to the issue of turning 40, there seem to be three main groups of people:

1. Those who say “It’s just a number.”
2. Those who say “You look great for your age.”
3. Those who say “It’s better than the alternative.”

Here’s the thing: they’re all right. And I’m feeling alright.

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40 Things to Do Before You Turn 40 by Paula Neal Mooney

Posted to Associated Press Content

About to Place the Big 4-0 on Your Birthday Cake? Before You Do, Read This On August 15, 2007, my husband will turn 40. Lord willing.

“What things do you want to do before you turn 40?” I asked him.

“Hmmm…I hadn’t really thought about it,” he said, much to my surprise. You see, I’m only 37, and I’ve already created my wish list of stuff I’d like to cross off in the next three years.

If you too are staring down the nose at 40 (which is still the new 20, by the way), your virginity is probably long gone. But there are still plenty of other fields of passion to yet be plowed, so to speak.

Use the following list to inspire you to get off your spreading arse and live:

1. Don’t die!
2. Write a book.
3. Learn a new language.
4. Visit a new country.
5. Pay off all your debts.
6. Sponsor a poor child.
7. Get back in shape.
8. Try out for a movie…
9. …sing horrible karaoke…
10. …or do anything to embarrass yourself!

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On Turning 40 by Robin

On turning 40…

Twenty three more days and I will be 40. I think turning 40 gives me the right to sit and really contemplate life.

I am excited about being 40! For me 40 means “I have arrived!” I am no longer a kid, I am not a young, insecure mother. I have been married enough years now to know what I want, how to get it…and to know I can get it for myself.

40 means I can dress how I want. I can be casual and cool…without looking foolish or I can be sophisticated and alluring.

40 means I won’t be pushed around by some teenager behind a counter. I won’t be intimidated by a boss or person of authority. I’m 40 now and I can’t be messed with.

40 means I need to start using wrinkle cream on a regular basis…not that I hate my wrinkles…oh no! Those wrinkles around my eyes show how much joy and laughter I have had in the last 40 years. But if I don’t start taking care of them now when I am 60 I will look like I lived on a funny farm where I laughed non-stop. lol

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Forty Things To Do Before I Turn Forty by Chris

1. Learn to knit, so I can one day knit a blanket, scarf, long chain for my grandchildren

2. Start and continue an exercise regime for three months, even if it kills me [God, I’m lazy]

3. Do sit ups everyday for 3 months [Yup, still lazy]

4.  Learn to accept my body and all it’s imperfections (yeah, right) [oh, I am laughing…wooo hooo.]

5. Read novels I should have already read, classics I read a long time ago and either hated them with a fiery passion or loved them with a fiery passion to see if time has changed my feelings towards them [Still hate One Hundred years Of Solitude… hate it.]

6. Go to Paris with my husband

7. Spend a summer in Italy with my children

8. See the Grand Canyon

Read the rest of the list.

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