Opinion: Past can lend strength for what lies ahead

In the packet were two books, “The Undiscovered Self” by C. G. Jung, the Swiss psychologist, and “Introduction to Jungian Psychology.” I took both to the beach, where I worked on my tan and tried to make sense of these tomes. I didn’t want to look like a dummy in the small group discussions.

I don’t remember much about Jungian psychology from Frosh Week, but one word has always stuck with me: synchronicity. Jung described synchronicity as meaningful coincidences. It was also a great word to use when I went back to my high school homecoming!

In November, I saw synchronicity up close once again:

• A high school friend e-mailed me 145 pictures from my high school reunion in Encinitas, Calif. (Let the curtain of discretion fall upon which year it was.) It made me nostalgic about applying to college, getting the acceptance letter from Whittier College and finding out where everyone else would attend.

• I attended the 25th anniversary dinner of the Executive Women’s Club founded by Paula Shumaker. I’ve only been a member for six years, but it was wonderful to see the pictures from 25 years ago, not to mention the changing hairstyles.

• I attended an EWC meeting where SBJ Publisher Dianne Elizabeth spoke. She also started something 25 years ago – Springfield Business Journal – and was EWC’s first speaker.

• Newsweek featured a cover that read “Ready or Not Boomers Turn 60!” I hasten to assure you I am not 60, but I do relate to much of the article.

All these synchronous events started me thinking about goals, working hard, friends, ideas, memories and silver memories.

I look at these four moments, and I am thankful that I am a baby boomer (someone born between 1946 and 1964). We are a generation that was told, and believed, we could and can do everything. I have often been asked if I was ever discriminated against because I was a woman. I don’t think so. Anything I didn’t achieve rests solely on my own shoulders.

The greatest aspect of baby boomers is that we are optimistic. We may not have achieved in our 30s, 40s or 50s, but we will in our 60s. The world will step aside for the baby boomers; at least, that’s what we believe!

Reading “The Undiscovered Self” my freshman year was one of the first steps in self-awareness. Reading the recent Newsweek article, I realize that we baby boomers strive for invention and reinvention. In fact, one of the major controversies in business today is how to market to baby boomers. They certainly don’t want to be referred to as senior citizens. The new term is “abbie,” which means aging boomer.

Another abbie, Paula Shumaker. She has said she didn’t know what she was doing, but the success of this club over the years says otherwise. At the banquet, many women stood up and were recognized for being with the club 25, 20, 15 and 10 years. Just as proudly, newcomers also stood in a room of entrepreneurs and businesswomen. The age range looked to be 20 to 80, but no one was saying because it didn’t matter. There were touching stories of friendship and one thread – motivation – throughout.

Humor is a thread in my life. When I got up to speak, a fire from a candle broke out at a table in the back. Mary Koppler, one of the “founding mothers,” sent a birthday poem to my husband (another abbie) saying that I “light up a room.” She meant it literally …

A few days later, Dianne Elizabeth spoke at the regular EWC meeting. She, also, had come a long way from that first meeting 25 years ago. The Springfield Business Journal has grown into a prestigious publication. Recently, it spread its wings to the Web and is planning to launch a Joplin publication. She was asked what kept her going during the early, hard years: “I put one foot in front of another – there wasn’t any other alternative.”

She also mentioned something that Jung might have considered synchronicity: Just when things got the hardest, the right person walked in. That’s more than a coincidence in my book!

Dianne described her staff as standing in a circle. “If one falls down, we all fall down.” As a writer and columnist, I am happy to be in that circle.

Usually I become more introspective at the beginning of the year. I look at where I have been and where I am going.

This year, “new year’s” came early for me. A series of synchronous events came together to make me truly thankful.

A reunion, a retrospective and two anniversaries. This abbie is now armed with strength from the past; the women who have gone on before and their achievement; and excitement about what 2006 will bring!

Happy silver anniversary to EWC (which also stands for “Every Woman Counts”) and the SBJ (which also stands for success!).

Sinara Stull O’Donnell is a professional speaker and writer through Springfield-based SinaraSpeaks. She is the author of “Be The Star Of Your Life: Are You Ready For Your Close-Up?”