How To Live Your Best Life After 50

Just think, the best is yet to come! It's true, and I'm going to explain why. We've put in all the hard work, we've done our due diligence, we've gotten down and dirty; finally we get to enjoy the garden we've been tending for the first half of life.

How we've toiled over that garden, learning and failing, drifting and falling. We have finally arrived at our destination. Now is the time to reap the benefits of all the toil and sweat. It's been a long haul through many, many seasons.

Let's take what we've learned and put it to good use.

We have come to realize:

• Life is precious;
• We are here for a very short time, and it is already at least half over;
• We gain knowledge as we age.

With experience comes a better understanding of how life works. With knowledge comes freedom to live our lives with greater intelligence and wisdom.

Forgiveness is beneficial. We know from experience how good it feels to forgive. We've felt the relief and peace that forgiveness brings.

With the benefit of age and maturity, we know that we no longer need to let ego get in the way of forgiveness. My most influential teacher in life once said that forgiveness is penicillin for the mind.

More love advice from YourTango:

• 5 Ways To Stop Complaining And Appreciate The Life You Have
• Why Can't I Find A Relationship?
• 10 Unmistakable Ways To Tell If A Man Is Completely In Love With You

Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Paying attention to the important things in life and minimizing the effects of less important things, makes sense;
• It's never a good idea to sweat the small stuff;
• It doesn't make sense to take ourselves too seriously; and
• It really doesn’t matter what people think of us.

You are free to be whoever you want to be. You will experience me and I you, through personal perceptions. There is a confidence that is delicious and palpable with an understanding that we are all part of an amazing and infinite Universe that is divinely intelligent. We each utilize the gift of thought to express divine wisdom in an infinite variety of ways.

As a single female, the perspective from which I write, I can tell you that based upon the men I've known personally and in my practice as a marriage and family therapist, older men typically appreciate and enjoy the seasoned, wise companionship of an experienced woman. Several have reported the ability to have the fun and excitement of their teenage years all over again and with the addition of maturity and wisdom. It's even better!

I've arrived at the following:

Crone is a Woman no longer controlled by menstrual cycles, usually over age 50. She is also called "wise woman" for her independent trial by error life lessons, and resilience to adapt.

"Some age naturally, others fix their dents like a car. It's all good. Let no one tell you how to age correctly. Speak less, smile wisely ... for maximum empowering essence." — Maya Angelou

"In Ancient Days, it was the crone that was the seasoned leader of tribes and made survival decisions. The crone married, birthed, healed and performed rites for the tribe. Her University was the Wisdom that comes from life survival. She proudly wore the hieroglyphics of wisdom on her face, as they spoke of her spiritual journey. Her duty to herself is to follow what gives her most confidence, to live her own path with grace. Today's women of wisdom do not have to follow any stereotype, she is free to live as she chooses and to be her own soul mate with or without a partner. Free of hormonal swings of her youth, she is now free to be true to herself and to soar like no other time in her life." — The Prairie Crone.

At one time I feared leaving my maidenhood behind to enter my time as a crone — even the word "crone" sounded nasty, to me, while "Maiden" just rolls off the lips with visions of fairies and nubile Rubenesque paintings.

As we age, if we are travelling solo, we realize what a magnificent life we have and perhaps yearn to share that magnificence with someone we adore. Even the feeling of yearning comes to us from the spiritual gifts of thought and consciousness. The same gifts allow us to feel the love that is in the Universe, readily absorbable. A life partner is no longer a necessity, because you now know that you are what you had been looking for.

Nonetheless, you also now know how to have a great partnership should you be gifted with one. In the present, you are free to adore your friends, pets, and relatives. That is living an intelligent life.

Now that you know, you don't have to wait until you age. You do need to know enough about your innate health and how to access it, to make a difference in your life now. You can find people of all ages who did just that -- here.