Quotes from Joan Anderson

Who are we beyond the roles that we play?

When will I ever learn to accept what is given instead of always yearning for more? My lavish expectations too often tarnish my blessings.

Nothing is worth more than my own company, taking care of my mind and spirit has proved to be more valuable than appeasing the crowd. It seems as if I have entered a new age- the age of re-enchantment-where I thrive on discovery, diversity, variety, spontaneity, and most days are self-directed, not programmed by invitations and obligations but, rather, determined by impulse, chance encounters, on the spot decisions, bravery, and new adventures, one after another.

I wish for all of you that you remain as unfinished as the shoreline along the beach and that you continue to transcend yourselves again and again.

You must not fret. There is no arriving, ever. It is all a continual becoming.

I must live a little each day, greet the sun as it rises and revel in its setting, swim naked, sip coffee and wine by the shore, generate new ideas, admire myself, talk to animals, meditate, laugh, risk adventures. I must try to be soft, not hard; fluid, not rigid; tender, not cold; find rather than seek. I have been embraced by the sea, tested by its elements, emptied of anxiety, cleansed with fresh thought. In the process, I have recovered myself.

When you are alone, you find out who you are capable of being.

I couldn't imagine life unless I could continue to have powerful experiences in the wild, and I never wanted to be in a place where I wanted to do something but my body couldn't....

Seek out adventures, not just to reach one goal or another, but for the journey itself and the lessons each experience teaches you.... Climbing mountains or backpacking in the wilderness inevitably changes you. The person you were at the onset is not who you become when the journey is finished. That is why I am always looking for the next adventure.

The goal is for your mid-life crisis to turn into a mid-life discovery.

The important thing is to share what you know. Be generative and pass it on. This is what makes all the difference.

How have I changed? I know now that I belong right in the middle of every dilemma. The solution to my problems is not to avoid them, or to follow a scripted response. I need to have enough confidence, enough self-respect, enough bravery to meet each challenge head on and pursue an original solution.

That's the magic of life. It happens in ways that challenges our plans.