Still Becoming

Throughout the month of June, the Walker House and ACTIVE LIVING 55+ welcomed visitors to an art exhibition called STILL BECOMING.

As I wandered through the gallery, taking in the paintings, photographs and creative expressions on display, I found myself returning to those two words again and again.

Still Becoming. Two simple words. Yet the more I thought about them, the more profound they felt.

We often think of becoming as something reserved for the young. We talk about children becoming adults, students becoming professionals and dreamers becoming achievers. But standing among the artwork that filled the gallery, I was reminded that becoming does not end at a certain age. In many ways, it never ends.

In fact, the people who have taught me the most about reinvention are not young at all. They are people I have met through ACTIVE LIVING 55+.

When we hear the word reinvention, we often imagine dramatic change. A new career. A new city. A bold decision that changes everything overnight. But lately, I’ve been wondering if reinvention is usually much quieter than that. What if it happens one conversation at a time? What if it happens because someone sees something in us before we see it ourselves?

One of the most unexpected gifts of my work with ACTIVE LIVING 55+ has been witnessing reinvention in all its forms. Not the flashy kind. The HUMAN kind.

I’ve met people who have retired and discovered passions they never had time to pursue. People who have lost spouses and somehow found the courage to build a life they never imagined having to create. People who have walked into a room knowing no one and left with friendships that changed the shape of their weeks. And while I admire all of those stories, I’ve begun to notice something else.

The people around us often become mirrors. Not mirrors that show us who we are, but mirrors that show us who we might become. Sometimes another person’s confidence helps us borrow a little of our own. Sometimes someone’s resilience makes us reconsider what we’re capable of surviving. Sometimes a persons kindness makes us want to be gentler and sometimes a story shared while spending time together causes us to quietly rethink an entire chapter of our lives.

Being with others challenges us to think “What if there is more to me than I currently know?” I think that’s why community matters so much. Not simply because it keeps us connected…but it expands us.

As the STILL BECOMING exhibition came to a close, one thought stayed with me:

Maybe reinvention isn’t about becoming someone else. Maybe it’s about uncovering parts of ourselves that were waiting patiently to emerge all along. Perhaps that is one of life’s greatest opportunities- to remain open, remain curious and allow the people we meet to leave their fingerprints on our hearts and minds.

In this writers humble opinion, sometimes the person you become tomorrow begins with a conversation you have today. If the people I’ve met through ACTIVE LIVING 55+ have taught me anything, it’s this…

WE are never truly finished becoming. The story is still being written.