I have been contemplating the cycles of life. That is one of the advantages of age, you get to live long enough to actually see the stages and cycles. It really is not linear, it is a circle. An interesting way of charting your cycles is by charting your progressed lunar phases. This is an astrogical process of discovering the phase of the moon you were born under and following the phases through the life cycle. Finding Our Way Through the Dark, by Demetra George has some excellent charts that can help you find your own cycles.
Timing is everything.