Carl Jung called this “the tension of opposites,” and it’s at the very heart of midlife. We long for stability, yet we’re pulled toward reinvention. We want to feel young, yet our bodies remind us daily that we’re not. We crave freedom, but we’re tethered to responsibilities.
It’s tempting to resolve the tension quickly—pick one side, dismiss the other. But what if midlife wisdom comes from holding the paradox rather than collapsing it? To sit with both/and instead of either/or?
Think of it like tuning a guitar: the string has to be pulled between two ends in order to create music. Too loose, and it falls flat. Too tight, and it snaps. The magic is in the tension.
Midlife invites us to become musicians of our own contradictions—allowing sorrow to deepen joy, vulnerability to enhance strength, and endings to become the compost for new beginnings.
The work isn’t about eliminating tension. It’s about learning to play it.
-Chip