Enjoying the full-bodied rebellion of peri-menopause, and the strength of youth.
My well read (and generally badass) friend1 says to me the other day, “there’s a hormonal link between how you feel as a teenager to how you feel at menopause.” I can tell you from personal experience, this is one thousand percent true.
All I want these days is Freedom, Fun, Feeling Beautiful, and to drive around in fast cars for hours with the proverbial top down.
Woven Knife (in progress)
March 2025
I’m also finding myself sliding down a spiral back to my earlier life. In my case, this means I’m making art again, not caring one bit how it is received, nor how to monetize2 it. I’m not “beyond” this money-making preoccupation with my creativity, I’m before this.
I’m also wasting lots of time in the woods, reading all kinds of new stuff, dancing to music, looking at things newly, pushing around the language of my highest ideals, and fighting the machine that has made people push themselves into a capitalist conformity.
Yeah, typical teen.
I’m also a bit preoccupied with being beautiful. Not because I need to be per se (my resource acquisition is not dependent on my looks, like if I were an actress or trophy wife), but because I want to be my own Cleopatra. Queen of my realm and going toe to toe with the likes of Mark Anthony and Kings of all kinds, while reveling in my place via the powers of love and artful competence.
Rebel Rebel
Teens hold enormous power in this world too. Historically, they get a ton DONE. Nothing is more powerful against governments gone bad than a young adult rebellion. That’s why colleges get targeted by the Trumpian Thought Police and moments like Tienanmen Square are scrubbed by Chinese media.
When young people show up en masse, the status quo falls.
The teen to menopause connection may also be why older women fight like hell for social progression and freedoms that support future generations3. The old ladies ARE the teens in spirit, the sages in reality, and the keepers of the realms for the rising fighters. Have you ever seen the demographic makeup of a social justice movement, a women’s rights movement, or an environmental cause? To date, it’s not a bunch of violent outlaw radicals like the “right” would have you believe. It’s friggin’ Grandmas with white hair, pink hats and fabulous gay friends.
So what’s one to do with all this anyway?
Well, job one may be to acknowledge and enjoy it. Stop treating your odd feelings and funny pelvic floor stuff on an “ailment” and start living like a well-earned badass who holds infinite power to change your life and the lives of those around you.
You own this is spirit, and body.
Oh yeah, and drive around for hours, listen to music, and make that stuff that doesn’t fit the machine right this moment. You’ve earned it.
FOOTNOTES
- Follow Sara’s Substack here. ↩︎
- Ugh, what a word. Yuck. Yeah, trying to monetize everything from news media to community is really distasteful to my purist heart. ↩︎
- Another post that touches on ‘women as the keepers of the future’ is here ↩︎
