I'm battling age in an unusual way. The law of compensation is one I adhere to: losing facility in one area leads to gaining in another. My eyesight is failing rapidly, but the reflexes are responding in a most unusual way. I'm unsure if it's in response to the eyesight, or the recent lack of over-thinking situations. What little martial arts training I've absorbed over the years might possibly be peeking thru. The key of martial arts isn't mystic secrets about how to break bricks with your pinky: it's about acting without conscious thought in an effective manner. Reflexes can be trained, thought is a time-wasting exercise when action is required. I'm more competent and dangerous at 49 than I was at 29. Strange days indeed.

Every life has phases. You can label them however you like, but there are turning points you achieve as you grow older. Sometimes they're defined by cataclysmic events: death of a loved one, divorce, moving, job changes, etc. Sometimes it's just because you see things in a new light. Change isn't always a bad thing. Leaving your comfort zone might be scary, but it doesn't mean things go to hell in a handbag. :) I'm at a nice settled age, and although my routine might be comfortable, doesn't mean it should define the rest of my existence. A bit of shaking-up won't hurt, as long as I'm adaptable and open to new experiences. Dear Lord, let me not be a fossil, carved in stone and incapable of accepting things that are new and different. The old ways may be grand, but they may not always be best.