One evening many years ago, I was heading out to meet friends for a few drinks when I came across a dead rat on the sidewalk. Instead of being repulsed and continuing on my way, I completely spun out and ran back home, cancelling on my friends. It wasn’t that I was scared of the rat (it didn’t seem to pose much threat, being dead and all), but terrified of the symbolism of it all. At the time, I was newly interested in spirituality and had misinterpreted the rat sighting as A Bad Omen. I was overthinking, overreacting and overstating the importance of almost everything. Sound familiar?

Recently I was listening to a podcast interview with an entrepreneur when they made an offhand comment that stopped me in my tracks – and not in a good way. When asked about what they wish they’d done differently, the entrepreneur said something like: ‘Everything I’ve done has led me to where I am now, so I’m happy I went through all that struggle.’ As much as I can see where they’re coming from, I have a slightly different take on our tendency to sometimes revise history with a glittery lens of positivity.

Let me explain.

OK, I admit it – that headline was totally clickbait-y. Truth is, there isn’t really a ‘best decade’, as such – every age and stage has its joys, triumphs, stressors and challenges. With that said, there are a few reasons why your 40s are a time for forging your identity and setting the tone for the rest of your life, which is the point of this article. My reasons for writing about this are mostly, I admit, self-interest. I’ve been told that being 42 is a powerful age for spiritual growth and wisdom – which, from my personal experience, is proving true (so far). It’s interesting that this dovetails with the famous line from Douglas Adams’ seminal The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy about 42 being the age that life begins…

Before we get into the spiritual stuff, let’s look at what’s often happening at this life stage.

I love angel cards and oracle cards for their ability to highlight what we really need to know about a particular situation, or even to give us general guidance on moving forward. However sometimes the guidance the cards deliver isn’t super clear-cut. I sometimes get requests for advice on reading cards, so I thought I’d compile some of the issues people face into one article. Let’s go!

One of the best ways to understand how energy healing can transform your life is through hearing someone share their personal story. But since my clients’ sessions are all bound by confidentiality, I can’t tell you their stories. So instead, I’ve decided to share a story about my own healing journey. This is the tale of a simple recent event that rocked me deeply and invoked a disproportionately emotional response. It explains how current events can have their tentacles in past issues that need to be healed – and how I worked with my own energy healer to soothe and repair it. Oh, and it involves a turtle (random, I know).