Jamey Hood’s 40th year of life — an exploration
“The night before my 40th birthday in July earlier this year, I set my alarm. I knew precisely what song I wanted to ease me into my extraordinary year of 40.
I had forgotten that the song starts with a few measures of a brassy and slightly drunken sounding version of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, but since I’ve spent the last 39 years conquering insecurity, fear, and doubt, a triumphant war song seemed more than appropriate….”
“…As we presently witness the world turning over itself socially and politically, my teacher’s words have never resonated more deeply. Do you want to be part of the chatter and noise or do you want to take action?”
“I spent the last six weeks climbing a mountain in the form of some of the most difficult, emotional, and challenging work I’ve ever had the privilege of undertaking and I have a message for you: You MUST Pamper Yourself at any cost or even at no cost. You must.”
“In a nutshell (pistachio, if you will, because I like idiomatic specificity), I discovered last month that I am as relevant now as I ever was and that my time is better spent listening to and helping people who have never been given relevance to lose.”
“About three weeks ago I paid a professional to…wait for it…make me a blonde.
Oh, friends, I was going to write about how liberating it is, how fun it has been to look different, how confident it makes me feel, and all the heads I’ve been turning! I mean, relevance-shmelevance: THIS BLONDE IS on FIRE!”
“Nine years and eleven months ago I was married, trying in vain to conceive, living in Los Angeles, both of my parents and my grandmothers were still alive and I had never flown over seas before even though I’d been dreaming about it since as early as I can remember…”
I’ve spent too much of my thirties and twenties worried about what others think of my body. Is it thin enough? Is it too thin? Why do I have cellulite even when I’m almost fifteen pounds underweight?…ENOUGH! If you saw a picture of me, you’d likely want to punch me in the face! I’m lovely but more importantly, I’m healthy….”
Oh, friends! I had really good intentions. In my March post You, Too, Can Lose Twenty Pounds in One Afternoon, I lost 21 pounds of old clothes and shoes that don’t suit me anymore and only kept the things I love…
Today I lost 21 pounds and I feel pretty amazing. As part of my year of Extraordinary 40, I have said goodbye to anything in my closet that I feel is holding me back. If it’s dingy, damaged beyond care to repair, cheaply made, uncomfortable, or sentimental but not useful, it was thanked for its service and let go.
February’s #Extraordinary40 challenge was to consciously make ten deposits into our “Spiritual Bank Accounts” (read post here). Imagine my surprise when in an attempt to connect to whatever is out there that is bigger than me I ended up discovering a bunch of new things about, well, me.
“I challenge you to mindfully make at least 10 deposits into your Spirituality Bank Account throughout the month of February. We are going to do this together and I’m going to give you some suggestions, but first, let me tell you about my trip to INDIA!…”
We are off to a rocking start for this year’s wondrous project, “Extraordinary40!” In case you missed it, check out my post Beginning the Year With a Powerful Ritual. In a nut shell, the fabulous women of Project:Women and I are celebrating my year of turning 40 with monthly challenges geared towards “best-everness” and you are invited to join in the fun! January’s challenge was to complete your own super sacred ritual acknowledging and thanking 2015 and welcoming 2016 with enthusiasm and bravery! It’s not too late to perform this ritual and rock your gratitude! As promised, here are my answers to the sensory questions for 2015 as compared to how I wanted 2015 to be way back on New Year’s Eve of 2014! I’m so looking forward to next year when you, too, are able to compare your answers. What we might want and what we actually get can be surprising, funny, maybe disappointing, and often powerful. What did I want 2015 to smell like? The Ocean. But what did it actually smell like? PIZZA! (Okay.) …
Do you love champagne? I do! Do you love to dance and party? Me, too, in my own adorable introverted way! Do you love to kiss cute people (or one very special cute person) at midnight? Yes, so do I! I love New Year’s Eve and I love our social traditions and rituals but I’ve created one of my own that I’ve been performing for most of the last decade and I’ve got to warn you, it’s pretty powerful. Before I share my step by step ritual with you so that you, too, can perform it, I want to tell you something personal about me. Come closer. Closer. Good. I’M TURNING FORTY IN 2016!!! What the heck does that have to do with powerful New Year’s rituals? Good question. I’ve been honing and shaping this ever-evolving ritual since the age of thirty-two when I basically hit zero and found myself starting completely over and now here I am on the cusp of a new year AND a new decade. Be it twenty, thirty, forty or …
