A week spent choosing people over premieres revealed a collective midlife “messy middle,” where personal upheavals mirror a film industry in transition and invite curiosity over certainty.
This is such a thoughtful piece, worthy of re-reading again and again, which I will do. Thank you for expressing the distinction between transitions and change. There's so much to mull here, and I plan on sharing this one, as well. I also so appreciate the interplay between the personal and what's happening in industry. These are ideas I have not heard articulated yet, and to have done so with such clarity is a gift. Keep going! Your own transition, Maida, is beautiful to behold. And as someone who met with you in NYC, thank your for prioritizing the personal over premieres ;) x
This really moved me, Maida. I loved the reminder that endings are not just conclusions, but the beginning of a process we may not yet understand.
The line about shifting attention from the intended goal to the process of investigation feels especially powerful. It gives such generous language to the messy middle: not as a place where we are failing to arrive, but as a place where we are learning how to listen.
This is such a thoughtful piece, worthy of re-reading again and again, which I will do. Thank you for expressing the distinction between transitions and change. There's so much to mull here, and I plan on sharing this one, as well. I also so appreciate the interplay between the personal and what's happening in industry. These are ideas I have not heard articulated yet, and to have done so with such clarity is a gift. Keep going! Your own transition, Maida, is beautiful to behold. And as someone who met with you in NYC, thank your for prioritizing the personal over premieres ;) x
Thank you for such a thoughtful comment, Beth.
Greetings from the messy middle!
This really moved me, Maida. I loved the reminder that endings are not just conclusions, but the beginning of a process we may not yet understand.
The line about shifting attention from the intended goal to the process of investigation feels especially powerful. It gives such generous language to the messy middle: not as a place where we are failing to arrive, but as a place where we are learning how to listen.
Beautiful piece.
I’m in the neutral zone right now! Thank you for sharing this — what a perfect framework I didn’t know I needed.
I think you’re in very good company!
I really loved this, and I’m on my way to order the book
Thanks, Caitlyn! Enjoy.