Aging

A friend said this to me the other day after she read this New York Times profile (https://bit.ly/4atQQ6I) of the 71-year-old actress/director/model/farmer. Isabella is a role model for living life with gusto, especially in her recent years when she doesn’t give a damn what anyone thinks of her, nor does she retouch her photos.

Chip’s Thought: Thanks to Barbara Kreisman, a very active and academic MEA alum, for this series for the next four guest posts - two this weekend and two next weekend - on a topic that we often neglect until it’s too late.

I'd correct this and suggest, 'Age is a piece of lumber' because often, ageism feels like getting hit by a 2x4 on the head. I really don't like the phrase 'age is just a number,' partly because it's become cliché, mainly because it feels like Pollyanna failed at math.

People are living longer, and so are dogs. The life expectancy of dogs has doubled in the past four decades. For humans, it’s taken a century to double life expectancy.

Remember Susan Boyle, that angelic, older singer who became a global sensation on “Britain’s Got Talent” TV show? Well, there’s a new singer on the show, the 68-year-old Jenny Darren, who’s flipped Simon Cowell’s wig, and I wanted to share this video with you.

Shiver me timbers! Are there young people one-third my age who are using Botox?

Greetings Tech Bros, I get it. You’re possessed with biohacking and psychedelics (when you’re not talking about how AI will save the world or trying to get to Mars). For now, let’s chat about biohacking, also known as ‘let’s try to control our body so we can live forever.’ Now, I won’t try (nor do I want to) get into your psyche to understand your deep-seated intentions, but, personally, I’m getting a little tired of you masters of the universe focusing more on the length of life than its depth (which I’m happy to report is a lot less expensive of an endeavor).

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post (https://www.meawisdom.com/wisdom-well/post/5-pieces-of-midlife-lingo-that-will-go-viral-in-2024) about five words or phrases from my new book “Learning to Love Midlife,” (https://bit.ly/48ag4FH) which I thought might go viral this year. Following your suggestions, I conducted a poll on four of these terms. I'm now excited to present the results, highlighting the top four phrases that received the most interest.

The subtitle of my new book says it all. It's a pro-aging reminder that getting older offers some unexpected pleasures.

Chip’d Editorial Comment: Dr. Mark Goulston was a friend who passed away a week ago from an unexpected infection during his recovery from his bone marrow transplant. He has been a regular blog post contributor to MEA and a mentor to me. He told me when he sent this guest post to me in December that he “thought you and your readers might find this contribution interesting and helpful.” I print it here in honor of Mark who was 75.