While we mark the transitions of early life with rituals — everything from baptisms, communions, and bar and bat mitzvahs to graduations — the more subtle, yet profound, awakenings available to those in midlife go virtually unnoticed.

I wanted to change that, so last year I attended my first ever weekend-long all-women’s retreat in honor of my 40^th birthday. It seemed like the perfect way to mark an incredibly significant and exciting milestone with a time of deep contemplation, intention-setting and celebration.