Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal. ~P. Starr

So lots of things swirling around my head on my birthday. Things that I would have figured I would have figured out by now! Guess I was wrong.

More and more I am seeing and hearing my peers at a crux in their lives. Whether it be about careers (as in my case), relationships (so not the case for me - never been more sure about anything in my life), who they are (I am doing alright in this category too - I think) or where they are going (anyone who knows me will tell you I have an excellent sense of direction :), we 40-somethings seem to be in a bit of a crisis. Not sure if it a mid-life crisis, or it if it is suddenly hitting us all that we are adults. No way around it, not an arguement in sight to prove otherwise, and perhaps that is what is sending us all into this state of flux.

Speaking to those a generation or two ahead of me, they don't recall their peers going through as much turmoil about everything. Sure, there was the proverbial mid-life crisis where people, ok, men, went out and bought sports cars, motor cycles, etc ... but it was more the exception than the rule. I am not sure that is the case today, and I think women and men are experiencing this "what am I going to do with the rest of my life" syndrome.

Maybe it is because the world is so much smaller (not literally of course) than it use to be. We can connect with virtually anyone, anywhere, at any time via so many different channels. We know what is happening around the world at any given moment, as it is happening. We wait and want for nothing when it comes to information, and most product. Is that making us more 'itchy' for something new and different in our immediate lives on a regular basis. Perhaps my generation is caught with having lived in a world without the world wide web and CNN/TSN and social networking, and not wanting to miss out on anything again is antsy to be a part of more things than we are capable of in case it all slips back to the way things were before Google ruled the world. Is wanting it all - happy home life, satisfaction/engagement at work, active social life, ... a bad thing?

As for me, as Ms. Starr said, I am going to try to reach high, and dream deep this year and see where it gets me.

I'll let you know. : )