When people find out I have a podcast called “Making Midlife Magic,” they see it as a departure from my career as a Holocaust educator, and in some ways, it is. In a deeper sense, though, my podcast comes directly out of my work on the Holocaust, specifically two things I’ve learned.
First, life is a gift. It sounds trite, yet it’s a profound truth I know from studying the Holocaust.
Learning about the Holocaust means listening to stories of lives cut tragically short. After 30 years immersed in this work, I passionately want everyone to be able to live their lives to the fullest. Physical safety is our most basic need, but even when we have that, too often other things stop us from living fully. We may talk ourselves out of trying something new; we may think we’re too old to write a novel or go back to school; we may tell ourselves things are “good enough” and we shouldn’t ask for more. Sometimes we’re held back by the chatter of our own negative self-talk.
My father of blessed memory had a dream of being a writer. I so wanted to help him realize his dream, but he found it too difficult to get through the awkward beginning stages. He lived a good life and was well-loved, but the dream of being a writer died with him.
When my mother died suddenly, 16 years later, I knew that I didn’t want to die with unlived dreams. I went to school to become a life coach and started a podcast. It’s been a busy time, as I still have my full-time job at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, but I love being “all in” on my life. I hope my podcast inspires others to take their dreams seriously, to create deeply satisfying lives, and never to let their age limit their sense of what is possible.
The other thing I know from studying the Holocaust is that living as a human being is a gift. This may sound obvious – what else could we be? – but too often we’re intolerant of our humanness. We want to be more perfect – to look good and do the correct thing always, without mistakes. But to really cherish human life, we must embrace our human imperfections. Doing so develops self-compassion and allows us to risk trying new things. If we’re going to take up painting at 60, self-compassion and positive self-talk will help us over the discomfort of being a beginner.
I want to be the voice that reminds people they are perfect in all their human imperfections, and that they are more powerful than they know. I want to be the voice that reminds people it’s better to reach for your dreams than to leave them in a drawer, gathering dust, even if that means failing along the way.
My podcast lets me literally be this voice in people’s ears, and I’m so grateful. What a meaningful way to use this gift of a human life.
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Rachel Baum is host of “Making Midlife Magic,” a podcast, available widely. She is also deputy director of the Sam & Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a certified life coach.
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