Latest / Aging ain't for Sissies / Aging, Editing, And The Joy Of Letting Go

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Aging, Editing, And The Joy Of Letting Go · Aging ain't for Sissies

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to Aging In for Sissies.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Marcy Backis, and I am your host.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, good morning, good morning.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: It is January 2nd.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: We're already into day two of 2026.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: I hope your holidays were everything you wanted them to be or not.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever you needed, whatever you wanted, I hope you got it.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Spiritually, physically, whatever it was, resting, I hope you got it.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: This is Friday, the last day of the who knows what day it is of the weeks, weeks.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know about you, but the two weeks around the holidays just become one big fat blur.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I decided to create a new podcast during this time, which I did.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: It is now up.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: You can get unbottled by Marcy Backis.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: You can just go on any um anywhere you get your podcast, just put my name in, Marcy Backis, and uh my podcast will come up.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: I have three now.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: So very exciting.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: I have changed my I used to have a website for each of the podcasts, blah, blah, blah, email addresses, none of that.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: I only have one.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Marcybacchusmedia.com is my website.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: You can get all my podcasts there at Marcybacchusmedia.com.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I'm a media now.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Isn't that exciting?
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want to talk to me, if you want to email me, if you want to be a guest on any of my podcasts, if you know someone that should be a guest, if you have comments, I do get lovely comments from people.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: You can keep your negative ones to yourself, seriously.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Never have gotten one.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: But those of you negative nailes out there, keep it to yourself or wrap it up in a positive way.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um and you can send that to me at Marcybacchusmedia at gmail.com.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: So there you have it.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Starting the new year as Marcy Bacchus Media.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: I am also starting the new year on a six-week road trip.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: I will be recording from the road.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: I might have some special guests.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: You just never know.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I have all my girlfriends, not all my girlfriends, but I have a group of girls coming into Vegas and also my sister, Cindy.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: And uh maybe I'll get them on the pod.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Who knows?
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, um happy 2026.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Happy New Year.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, when when is the when do we stop saying happy new year?
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Is it like after this weekend, then you don't say it anymore?
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: After yesterday.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Hmm, I don't know.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's sunny here in Chicago.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's cold, but it's sunny.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's sunny.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Let's see.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, and there is the inevitable line around the world's largest Starbucks.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: I can see that.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's cold out.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm up in my little palace in the sky and uh happy to talk to all of you.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: What are we?
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: The heck are we gonna talk about today?
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we are going to talk about at this stage of life, we are not here to reinvent ourselves.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: We are here to release what's been weighing us down.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know about you, but every time I think I've gotten rid of everything that weighs me down, there's more.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so we're gonna talk about how to let go of things.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, big goals, big energy, big pressure, you know, all that stuff, all that stuff that's out there.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, and here's what I want to say right out of the gate.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Right out of the gate.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: This episode isn't about resolutions, it's about relief.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: We've already said it, talked about setting our intentions.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you did.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: I set a couple of intentions.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: I will check in in a month and see how I'm doing on those attention, intentions.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because one of the quiet, unexpected gifts of aging is realizing that you don't have to carry everything anymore.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you don't owe anyone a dramatic explanation for putting something down.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes letting go is loud, but most of the time it's quiet and deeply personal.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have some things you want to put down this year?
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: There's some things you want to let go of.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's talk about it.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Hang in there, we'll be right back.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Well, welcome back.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, hope you had a chance to refresh your your coffee, whatever it is.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: If you're driving, pay attention to driving.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: If you are sitting around listening, I hope you're comfortable.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, my life right now.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I want to start where I always start with my own life because that's how I make sense of things.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm about to head out on a long road trip.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, six weeks.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Got five pounds of cinnamon gummy bears.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: So road trips hit very differently at this age than they did when we were younger.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't about proving anything.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about how fast I can get there.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about pushing through exhaustion.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll tell you, you know, I used to drive up to my mom and dad's from California all the time with my kids, you know.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: And it was 13 hours if you drove straight through.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I would do that a lot of times.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: And trust me, that is not happening on this trip.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: This trip is about comfort, pacing, good coffee, diet coke, gummy bears, cinnamon gummy bears, clean bathrooms, and hotels that don't surprise me in ways I didn't ask for.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, that's exactly, exactly how I'm going to handle this trip.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I I so my just so you know, the hotels I stay in now while I'm doing a road trip are different than hotels I stay in when you're staying for a long time.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: But I came across this hotel brand.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's a Hilton, it's TRU.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh they're clean, they're new, they're all over the place.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: They're about a hundred and something bucks a night.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Great for a road trip.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: They're clean, they're safe, their parking is free.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they have everything you need, including a breakfast.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: The negative is a lot of times if you're there on a weekend, you're going to run into the traveling team crowd, if you know who that is.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever seen that?
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's the traveling soccer kids, the traveling swim, whatever they are, the traveling team kids and their parents could be at this particular, these this particular brand.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: But my I will be a Sunday night and then all weeknight.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I am staying my first night in Springfield, Missouri, which means I have to go through Uranus, which is the best fudge on the in the world.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: It is delicious.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's hysterical, and yes, it's full of Uranus jokes.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: And it's this whole stop.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's we'll talk about it.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: We'll talk about it when I do it.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: But um, then I'm going from Springfield, Missouri to Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo, Texas to Albuquerque, Albuquerque to Flagstaff, and Flagstaff into Vegas.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: And everywhere there's a true hotel.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: They're all new, and I'll be staying there.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, yes, it's about comfort, pacing, good coffee, diet coke, cinnamon bears, clean bathrooms, and hotels that don't surprise me.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: And packing for this trip has been revealing because packing is really a conversation with yourself.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: You're standing there asking, do I actually need this?
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: Then you're asking that question, why do I still own this?
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes when you get there, it's like, who was I packing for?
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: This is a really interesting trip because I'm doing a lot.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm stopping in Vegas, four days there, friends, going out to dinner, hanging out, walking some dogs.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, it requires a certain amount.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Then I'm doing two weeks of traveling around California, visiting friends and family.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, you think you need all these clothes, but then the truth is I'll probably wear my workout clothes all the time.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's what I do at home.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: So there's that.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Then I have a one-week cruise to Mexico with my bestie.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: When I get back from that, I have a week in Arizona seeing friends and things like that.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll need clothes for going to lunch and stuff like that.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: But you don't need as much as you think.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm really working hard on this packing part.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, sometimes when you're packing, you realize that you've been packing your life the exact same way.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: Carrying things just in case, holding on to roles, habits, expectations, and even people because I thought I should.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: So this trip feels a little symbolic to me.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm moving forward, yes, and I'm also intentionally leaving things behind.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: Not because they're bad, but because they're heavy.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't want to travel that way anymore.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have something that's heavy that you're carrying that you want to let go?
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: Let it go.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: Let it go.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: My biggest heavy load that I carry is my critique of myself.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: My criticism, my sometimes hatred for myself.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: My I'm too this, I'm too that, I'm too loud, I'm too talkative, I'm too fat, I'm too out of shape, I'm too, I'm too.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: And that's T-O-O.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Too much.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I need to let that go.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I have tried and worked years to try to be kinder to myself.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: And that saying, don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to your best friend.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I say things to myself all the time.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: I would never ever say to anyone else.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: Why am I so hard on myself?
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, I think it comes from my mom and my dad.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: I think my parents were very hard on us.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: I think our parents my mom, especially, in the looks department.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think I carried all that h extra weight I did for years because of my mom.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry, mom, but it's true.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: I finally got that under control.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: But recently, as I've shared on here, there's a medication I have to take, and it's put a good 10 pounds on me that I get two pounds off, three pounds up, two pounds.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: It can't it's just and it's weighing on me like it was the 50 pounds I lost.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: For God's sakes, I'm still 40 pounds down, but I can't seem to be kind to myself.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: So, how can we change that?
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: I have to do things differently.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: I have to think about it.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: I have to, when I am stating those things, I have to um be kinder.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: I just have to think about it and I have to put me first, and that's what this is about.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's really putting yourself first.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: So hopefully I'll get some freedom from that.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're putting down something heavy, I hope you are because it's a lot like packing, like we said.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not because things are bad.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: This happens to be a bad one.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: You might have some things that are just too heavy.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to be in charge of the family vacation anymore.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know what it is, but if it is for you, let it go.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: And the next thing we need to let go of is explaining ourselves.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: One of the biggest things we quietly let go of as we age is the need to explain ourselves.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: Some of us let go of that, some of us are still holding on to it.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: If you're still holding on to it, there was a time I felt every decision needed a backstory.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: Why I couldn't make it, why I changed my mind, why I needed rest, why I didn't want to do the thing.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: And Craig asked me a lot of questions.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: It drives me nuts when I say no.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then I end up explaining myself why don't anymore.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's a complete sentence.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: We've talked about that.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Because it works better for me, it's enough.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: Silence is allowed.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to fill every void in a conversation because you feel uncomfortable with what you said.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: If you stand in your truth and you're saying what you're saying, stand there.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: Stand in it.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't being rude, this is being honest.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: Aging teaches us that clarity doesn't need validation and peace doesn't need required consensus.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: When you stop explaining yourself, something incredible happens.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: You get your energy back.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: Friends are trying to plan a vacation.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's again to Cairo, Egypt.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: They found a vacation that they're comfortable with, and it costs two times more than the vacation Craig and I found.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just trying to figure it all out.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: And do I have all the answers?
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: Do I want to have all the answers?
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: Have I used this company before?
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: But I have a friend that has and said they were good.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Why is it at two-thirds of the price less?
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: The everything looks comparable.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm just standing in it.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: This is what I want to do.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not willing to spend more for the same thing.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: Craig and I have some people don't have a budget for travel.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: We do.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: And if I use all of that on one trip, what do I have left for other trips?
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: We have a tentative plan to go to Paris.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: And those of you who know the joke, you know it.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: If you know, you know.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um to Paris this spring when I get back from my six-week road trip.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um and, you know, I if if we go and we pay a high price for a trip, we won't have the money for Paris.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: It will use our full budget.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, no, I'm not doing the other one.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: And they also um he gave us a deadlight of January 4th.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: Well, my God, I just started my year.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm trying to figure things out.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: I can't make a$10,000 trip decision in a couple of days.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I won't be making that decision, Bob.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: If you're listening to this, I appreciate you trying to figure this out.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, like Craig and I said, we just can't make a decision that fast.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: I know you need to have your whole year planned in advance.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I don't.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: So no.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: There you go.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: And did you hear me?
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: I explained.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: But trying to be kind.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: Anyways, um work on that.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: I am.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm always a work in progress.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Letting go of certain people without making them the villain.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: I've already done this in my life.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're my friends and listening, if you were hoping I was gonna let you go, I'm not.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: You're stuck with me.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: You signed a lifelong contract.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, if you're old friends that are listening, I may have let go.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I've really cleared my life of negative people.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: Not every relationship ends because something went wrong.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Some end because they no longer fit the life you're living, and that's true.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: And it's certainly not true if you are one of my friends listening far and wide.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: This has been a rough year for me getting back to people.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: So, Tammy and Joan, if you're listening, I love you both and would love nothing more than to do a girls' trip.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: My life has just been crazy.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: And Jan Varant, same with you.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: I love you to death.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: You are my friend.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: I just haven't gotten back to too many people this year.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, we'll see.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: So, but other than that, in my life, I have culled those friendships.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: I have, if something wasn't working for me, I let it go.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: And not necessarily in a negative way.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: And it can be confusing that a friendship can just end for women because we're taught that loyalty means endurance.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's not true.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: You may let go of a friend for a certain reason, nothing negative, just that it's not suiting you.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: And guess what?
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: You may not be suiting them, and you may be doing them a favor.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes letting go looks like not calling back, not scheduling the lunch, and not forcing the connection.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: And for my girlfriends that I just mentioned, none of that is true.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: That is happening just out of life circumstance.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: There's no fight, there's no big blow up, just an honest recognition that the relationship takes more than it gives.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: That can happen with family too.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: There isn't bitterness, there isn't discernment, there isn't anything.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: It just ends.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: You're not obligated to keep every chapter of your life open.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: Some chapters close, just like a book.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: You close a chapter, you don't go back to it.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: Some people weren't were met for a season, and that season can end with gratitude instead of guilt.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: I look back on some ended friendships with fondness.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: And for the time that that person was in my life, it was really awesome.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: Do I miss them occasionally?
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: But was it the right decision?
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: So moving on, new year, different questions.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: So here we are, January.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of asking, what should I add this year?
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: I think a better question is, what am I done carrying?
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: What expectations feel outdated?
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: What obligations feel heavier than they should?
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: What version of yourself are you still trying to perform?
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my God.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: That is such a good question.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: What version of yourself are you still trying to perform?
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: I I have that that clicked a thought for me, and I'm gonna keep it to myself, but it I hope it clicked a thought for you.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: What version of yourself are you still trying to perform?
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, that was heavy for me.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: And we'll we'll talk about it on another subject.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: This year doesn't need to be a vision board, it just needs to be honest.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: What do you want your days to feel like?
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: Not impressive, not productive, but livable, peaceful, and real.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: Wanting less isn't failure, it's wisdom.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: So why is letting go such a gift?
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: This is the part I love the most.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: When you let go, slowly and quietly, you create space.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: And space invites better things in.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: More laughter, more rest, deeper conversations, more joy without effort.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: Aging isn't about losing yourself, it's about refining yourself.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yourself.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: We're not shrinking.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: We're editing.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: I want to say that again.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: We're not shrinking our lives.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: We're not closing in.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: We're editing, keeping what matters and releasing what doesn't.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: And that, my friends, is not sadness.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's freedom.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: That is not sadness.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's freedom.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: So as this new year unfolds, 2026, I hope you give yourself permission to quietly let go.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: No announcement, no apology, no guilt.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: Just a soft release of what no longer fits the life you're building now.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: If this season feels lighter, you're doing it right.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: If it feels heavy, be patient.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: Clarity will come.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for being here.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: And remember, aging ain't for sissies, but it comes with some beautiful gifts.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: Go out and do something positive.