There is something profoundly humbling about reaching the stage of life where we realise we are no longer who we once were, and not yet who we are becoming. Aging is not for the faint of heart. It invites us into a deeper, more intimate relationship with ourselves, our beliefs, and the stories that have shaped how we see the later chapters of life.
Recently, I sat down with my long time friend and colleague, Julie Flippin, to talk about her new book Divinely Seasoned: Sacred Aging with Wisdom, Wonder and Joy. What emerged from our conversation was not only her personal journey, but a shared exploration of how conscious aging invites us into more permission, more authenticity, and more spaciousness than we ever imagined possible.
The Quiet Challenge We Do Not Talk About
When I turned seventy, it hit me harder than I expected. Up until then, milestone birthdays felt easy. But this one felt different. Suddenly the cultural stories about aging, stored deep in my energy system and my biology, rose to the surface in a way I had never experienced before.
Stories like:
- You are supposed to slow down.
- You are becoming less relevant.
- You should be preparing for retirement.
- You will lose energy, vitality, and perhaps even your memory.
These internalised beliefs were not conscious until that moment, yet they were shaping how I felt and how I saw myself. It was as if the rug had been pulled out from underneath me. I realised how much unlearning there was to do.
Julie shared that she felt something similar when she turned seventy. She described being furious and shocked, wrestling with questions about identity, purpose, meaning, and relevance. It was comforting to hear her say it out loud, because so many people experience this quietly and think they are alone.
The Story That No Longer Fits
When we live inside cultural beliefs that diminish the value of aging, it can feel like:
- A sense of urgency, as if life is running out
- A fear of becoming invisible
- A questioning of purpose
- An internal conflict about slowing down or doing less
- A worry about cognitive decline
- A pressure to follow a traditional retirement path that may not feel authentic
Both Julie and I found ourselves navigating these questions in real time. Conscious aging brings them all to the surface, not to overwhelm us, but to invite us into a deeper truth.
And the deeper truth is this:
We are still becoming. We are still unfolding. We are still here for a reason.
Choosing Conscious Aging Over Cultural Conditioning
Conscious aging is not about resisting age. It is about reclaiming the power, wisdom, and permission that come with it. It is about releasing the stories that no longer support who we are becoming.
For me, it has meant giving myself full permission to:
- Continue doing the work I love without apology
- Show up in the fullness of my humanity
- Let go of the traditional role of the expert and meet clients from a place of authenticity and presence
- Trust my voice, my energy, and my lived wisdom
For Julie, conscious aging has brought forward new gifts: deeper intuition, more spiritual connection, and a way of working with clients that feels more aligned, more loving, and more connected than ever before.
What struck me most during our conversation was the word she kept returning to: permission.
Permission to evolve.
Permission to speak.
Permission to lead.
Permission to redefine what aging actually is.
Because we are not here to shrink.
We are here to illuminate.
We are here to participate in rewriting the story of aging for the generations that come behind us.
A New Story for the Next Season of Life
The new story we are embedding is simple and profound:
We are not finished.
We are still becoming.
We are deepening, softening, strengthening, and expanding in ways we could never have understood when we were younger.
There is more light.
More grace.
More wisdom.
More capacity for love.
More alignment with what truly matters.
As practitioners, as women, and as human beings, we have a responsibility to embody this new narrative. Not only for ourselves, but for every person who is watching and wondering what their next season of life might look like.
Julie’s Book Is Part of This New Story
Julie’s book, Divinely Seasoned, captures the voices of women in their sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties who are leading the way. They are redefining aging in powerful and liberating ways. I had the honour of writing the foreword, and I can tell you with absolute confidence that this book will inspire anyone who is navigating the question of who they are becoming.
On December 17, 2026, the book will be available for only 99 cents as part of its launch celebration.
If you are reading this today, no matter your age or stage of life, may you know that your journey is still unfolding. You are not behind. You are not done. You are still becoming who you were always meant to be.