30 somethings and their 'jesus year'

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-rise-of-the-jesus-year/article2394608/

So, what exactly is a Jesus Year? The term cropped up periodically on early blogs and Myspace pages, but only now appears to be gaining traction among those trying to make the increasingly difficult transition from adolescence to adulthood.

This is the definition found in the Urban Dictionary: “Time to get moving and get things done (maybe).”

Brooklyn-based artist Wayne Adams is more forthcoming. “Thirty-three is largely considered the age Jesus Christ was when His life and ministry were abruptly ended in His crucifixion,” he explains on the blog Curator, adding that, as he approached his own Jesus Year, “in the back of my mind, it seemed like there was a sort of historical/biblical precedent for being at the height of one's career, or at least doing something incredibly important at that age.”...

This interpretation doesn't, however, take into account the frustrations faced by today's thirtysomethings. “The basic milestones that young people of previous generations could expect to complete by the age of 30 – graduating school, leaving home, becoming financial independent and forming their own families – aren't necessarily occurring in that standard fashion,” says Barbara Mitchell, who teaches sociology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.

“It's unprecedented from a historical perspective. On the one hand, they have all these opportunities and options. On the other hand, I can imagine they'd start to feel somewhat anxious about trying to transition into complete adulthood in an economy that doesn't allow them to do that.”
They are trying to anchor themselves in something bigger than themselves.”
So, the Jesus Year has become a meme for dealing with, not a mid-life crisis but rather a stalled-life crisis.

“By 35, especially for women, you have to be married with babies; otherwise you kind of missed your time.”
She interpreted the Jesus Year as an opportunity for reinvention, a kind of bonus year off from the pressures of adulthood, and embarked upon a year of self-improvement and magical thinking.

– the most profound reality of this age today is that it's the last gasp before you leave the valuable under-35 demographic. You are becoming less valuable to the marketing machine that had praised you since your teens. All the things you bought don't love you back. The rub, of course, is where do you turn instead?

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D - check out the article for more. Lots of bon mots there.

D - now that I think about that, I think I went through that in my late 30s. I thought at the time that must be my mid-life crisis. But it wasn't.

Midlife crisis is a term coined in 1965 by Elliott Jaques stating a time where adults come to realize their own mortality and how much time is left in their life. [1] A midlife crisis is experienced by many people during the midlife transition when they realize that life may be more than halfway over. Sometimes, a crisis can be triggered by transitions experienced in these years, such as andropause or menopause, the death of parents or other causes of grief, unemployment or underemployment, realizing that a job or career is hated but not knowing how else to earn an equivalent living, or children leaving home. People may reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams. The result may be a desire to make significant changes in core aspects of day-to-day life or situation, such as in career, work-life balance, marriage, romantic relationships, large expenditures, or physical appearance. (Wiki)

D - I don't qualify for a midlife crisis. There is no house, no wife, no kids, hell, not even a career or vocation. Just entry-level, pays-the-rent work.
I thought to myself, "at 40 I'll be in this stupid factory doing trained monkey work still, after 5 years here!" Career-wise, trying to reinvent myself failed. I'm still doing trained monkey entry level work. I have become more contemplative, I suppose.
Plus, I am not nearly done and am slowly pursuing some game-changing strategies still.

D - in conclusion, this new "Jesus Year" can only take place in the absence of the standard signposts of success necessary to reach a midlife crisis!