Maria Bello Instagram – Task #1 of Jung’s 7 tasks of mid-life – Facing the reality of aging and dying. I’m on a lovely vacation with my family. I feel grounded and free here. AND YET.. my father fell last night in the senior home he is now living in and was sent to the hospital. My mother was, as always, by his side. But she couldn’t sleep with him in the hospital bed because she had to have some tests done this morning at 6am. She has cancer and has been going through treatment for a few months. I’m sure as always she will be fine. She’s a tough cookie. They also sold their house that they lived in for 60 years. AND YET… now in the second half of my life, I see, like ALL of us – our parents and people we care about getting closer to death. It’s inevitable. And I’m still enjoying it here on our vacation. I know I can’t stop them from aging. I know I can’t stop them from dying. In my PAUSE, I learned to accept this fact. It is, and was, bizarrely freeing. Try it. You’re brave enough to go there. Take your ten minutes everyday as you PAUSE and face the reality of this. There is a gift waiting for you as you move through that point called Mid-Life and get to the other side.