The woman from the future!!

 Seven or eight years ago, during a leadership summit, a senior executive shared a reflection that I simply couldn’t grasp at the time. Instead of empathy, I felt a flicker of skepticism: What is the point of dwelling on something you cannot change?

Today, I find myself standing exactly where she stood. Looking back, it feels as though she had traveled from the future to offer a warning—one I wasn’t yet equipped to hear, and so, I chose to ignore it, unknowingly discarding the wisdom of others until my own body forced me to listen.

In our twenties and thirties, our ambitions are towering. We push ourselves to meet every professional milestone, often at the expense of our physical and emotional needs. But as we enter our forties, a subtle shift occurs. The curve of external ambition begins to level out, and our intellect finally gains the clarity to see everything we pushed aside in the name of "progress." In that newfound space, a quiet realization emerges: the feeling of a missing presence.

This shift is most palpable during the low tides of our hormonal cycles. In those moments of physical vulnerability, the armor we’ve spent years polishing feels heavy. You find yourself wanting to drop the defenses and simply be seen—not for what you do, but for who you are. You crave a presence that recognizes your soul.

Yet, habit is a strong master. Just as we’ve done with so many other desires, we whisper the old mantra: "This too shall pass." We tuck the longing away and keep moving.

But as I stand here now, reflecting on that leader’s words, I am learning to challenge that silence. I wish, instead of waiting for the feeling to fade, I could finally tell myself: "Not this time."