Turning Thirty - the Year of adoption into your Inheritance
When I turned 30 in 1993 it felt like a big issue. I remember struggling to find some equilibrium, and what made it worse was I had no idea why!
One day I was sharing this with a close friend and mentor. He sat back and smiled.
He said ’ that is a significant passage of life for you and everyone or at least most people’. Now I was even more confused.
He went on ’… that in some cultures 30 is seen as the year of adoption into the family and its inheritance.’ He explained it is the formal acceptance that you now have received the same rights as the other adults and parents, …..if there was a family business it was when you were accepted as a co-owner in the business. The business became ‘Rowlands and daughters ‘ or ‘Rowlands and sons’ or ‘Rowlands and co’. Earlier in life we had transitioned from adolescence to adulthood but at thirty you become someone of responsibility. Someone who’s words and actions now carry weight because they now carry an equal joy and burden in the matters of the family and its business.
Somehow, even though I had not really been brought up in that type of culture directly, I had felt that change. There was a lot going on at the time, I had just become a dad, there were some big promises I felt I was stepping into, some big decisions to be made and changes to navigate. Some may say it was just a whole load of circumstances coming together but, personally, I found great release as I approached it from a standpoint of a transition into a new season of life and I marked it out as a ‘rite of passage’ in my life.
Over the years, as a result of my own experienc, I have observed many people going through similar things as they make this unseen transition and have tried to ease that transition by sharing this ‘rite of passage’ and giving them a journal with some words to encourage them to process their thoughts and ideas, feelings and doubts, inspiration and dull days, as well as giving them the opportunity to record their journey into this uncharted land.