If there was a poster child for rebirth in later life, it could be me. I’m not buying into “it’s hell getting old.” Even though I’m eligible for Social Security, I’m excited about the new career path I’ve chosen, and the person I’ve become. But I wasn’t always like this.

Only a few years ago I was a stressed-out, impatient fury. For decades, though I had financial success and material comfort, I was dissatisfied with life, but couldn’t figure out why. Depression lodged deep, like a phantom under a bright mask of gaiety and self-assuredness. Then came the words that pierced like a knife in my gut, “you have cancer.”

Once the shock wore off, I assessed my options. I have Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS); my intuition told me that conventional cancer treatments would overwhelm my body. I was actually afraid the treatments would kill me before the cancer did. Fortunately, I was seeing an alternative/TCM practitioner who was attempting to help me with the MCS. He became the one guy in my corner who actually listened to my feelings and concerns, and offered sound advice for various options specifically suited to my body. Little did I know he would be my lone guide, my emotional support for what was to become the journey that changed my life.

There is an emotional component that plays a role in all dis-harmony in the body. I realized then that my fight to beat cancer free must include figuring out why I was so unhappy. This meant uncovering deep emotional issues from the past that shaped the person I had become.

First I took responsibility for my recovery. Instead of asking ‘why me?’ I put myself in the driver’s seat. With my alternative/TCM practitioner’s help, I selected a balanced protocol from conventional, alternative, and Chinese medicines that felt right to me.

Movement also became a critical component of healing. I’d been doing yoga but I began a daily practice in Qi Gong. In some sessions I was releasing so much stuck emotion, tears would stream down my face; I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why; it simply felt good to let go.

As we continued on my quest, I recognize that all the choices I’d made in life were out of deep-seated fears from early childhood. Thus I had to make some of the most difficult decisions of my life, not only with cancer treatments, but with my career and personal relationships as well.

Now I won’t lie to you: the emotional upheaval of letting go of fears and finding the softer, more loving and accepting side of myself was no picnic. But it was an experience I am truly grateful for because I am living a life I never could have imagined was possible.

Today I am happier than I’ve been in decades and people tell me I look ten years younger. At last I am comfortable with ‘the real me;’ I feel free and energized with the path I’ve chosen for my new career and lifestyle, even at my age. I  continue to find new teachers and slowly evolve with greater insight and personal strength.

If my story resonates with you, I invite you to join me in a revolution of sorts. We hear people complain about inability to lose weight, aches, health problems; they chalk it up to aging. But we don’t have to follow along. We can take action NOW to resuscitate our health and happiness, to reinvent our final decades. Here’s the deal: if I can change so dramatically, so can you, if you choose to.