Rite of Passage--Turning 50

Rite of Passage (or Turning 50: A Juicy Crone)

I do think it is one of the ills of our current culture that there are so few “official” rites of passage. The markers from childhood to young adulthood are so fuzzy as to be indistinct, which creates, I think, an extended adolescence. Without these markers, it is easy to stay dependent on others for so many things—money, housing, but most detrimentally—thinking.
With such an extended adolescence comes the fixation on youthfulness in our culture, perhaps if our culture had official markers the elderly would be revered rather than forgotten or even reviled. If one could pass into a “wisdom holder” stage with age, the value of all people might remain intact. I suspect so anyway.
Because I am working on accepting the aging process, and I do not love it at present, I have decided to create my own rite of passage when I turn fifty, which is only four years away. Goddess, but that sounds old. I want to approach the half century mark with joy rather than dread.
To this end, I plan to begin by having a gathering of women of all ages that I like, a party atmosphere with lots of laughing, talking, drinking, and eating. It need not even be my birthday. The purpose to this party is more of a send off: I want to go to India for a whole month and live in an ashram.