I remember the first midlife crisis I ever witnessed.  It was a workmate of mine.  His marriage busted up in the acutely painful way that living in a small town guarantees.  He got a new tattoo and an ear piercing, then got together with a girl ten years his junior that looked like his ex-wife.  He changed careers.  He ticked all the boxes for a well-rounded, neatly constructed, classic midlife crisis.  Me and my other workmates watched all this unfold with a mixture of sadness, sympathy, pity and amusement.  You can afford these things when your life is moving along nicely.  A few years later, mine wasn’t anymore.

I commenced a midlife crisis of my own.  Although it started about five years ago I am still living it. I’m here to tell you that when it’s your own crisis, there’s nothing funny about it.  Mine was triggered by the breakdown of my long-term relationship, and leaving the career to which I had committed nearly my entire working life. And there was more to come.

I’ve spent the last six years trying to rediscover meaning, purpose and passion in life.  It’s been a tough time.  I have always had more overseas travel in the back of my mind, but have only recently started to feel like I have the strength for it.  With no career, job, partner or house, now seems as good a time as ever.  Reckon I’ll head off for a while.

Perhaps ‘not all who wander are lost’. But some of us most definitely are. What am I hoping to discover during my odyssey?  For how long will I wander? Well if it turns out anything like Odysseus’ journey I’m in for a torrid time.  I don’t leave with expectations of finding all the answers to my mid-life crisis’ myriad questions (nor encountering a cyclops, giant cannibals, or visiting the land of the dead like the Big O did on his rather protracted trip home after the stoush at Troy).  However I do hope to find a little peace. 

If you’ve ever found yourself questioning the big picture, or you’re just keen to have a look around, then you’re welcome to come along for the ride.  I’m not sure where we’re going, but perhaps that’s not the point.  Whatever happens, it ain’t going to be dull.

Jim