MEA

When we shortened our Modern Elder Academy name to MEA, we didn't expect we'd have to do a "mea culpa" to Spanish and Portuguese-speaking people as "mea" is the third person for urinating. Not exactly a great word association.

Grace Lee Boggs said, "You cannot change any society unless you take responsibility for it, unless you see yourself as belonging to it and responsible for changing it." But, it’s hard to do that on the margins when you’re not part of the dominant demographic of a society. We are all mirrors for each other, but that mirror isn’t color blind.

Chip's Editorial Comment: I think you’ll enjoy this spirited post (in English and Spanish) from the MEA alum who gave us the incentive to create our first public Spanish-speaking MEA program that happens in Baja in a month.

Change can be scary, but it’s also exciting. Life, deprived of breath, is anxiety. With breath, it’s exhilarating. I can say this is an exhilarating time for me and MEA and I’m breathing my way through it.

MEA has chosen Baja and Santa Fe as the locations for our Academies and Regenerative Communities for a variety of reasons. There's a raw realness to both places where nature is a profound teacher. Both have communities of artists, makers, and creators, and both attract the modern elder crowd as a place to retire. Additionally, our two locations are magnets for seekers of all stripes—people curious about life's meaning. And they both have vibrant culinary communities, so we eat well!

Chip’s Editorial Comment: Stacy Peralta is a big deal in the film and adventure sports world, but you’d never know it by meeting him as he’s so down-to-earth and humble. We are fortunate to have him be one of our MEA faculty members.

“Just as some Westerners can’t conceive of life without running water, electricity, and commodities, indigenous people in tribal Africa can’t conceive life without ritual.” - Malidome Soma

We are living longer. Today, if we live to 50 in America, we can hope to live well into our eighties. This demographic shift in life expectancy and the fact that we have not only increased our lifespan but also our healthspan means we have to radically reimagine our lives. Beginning with midlife.

With my book "Learning to Love Midlife" coming out and MEA's Santa Fe ranch campus opening, we will have a bigger stage for influencing the societal lexicon on aging. My bet is that at least one of these five words or phrases will go viral this year. Which of these do you think is most likely to go mainstream?

Our lives are filled with rituals in the first thirty or so years. Baptism. First Holy Communion. Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. Graduation. Marriage. Bridal shower. Baby shower. These beautiful rituals act as a rest stop for the soul—an opportunity for your community to hold a mirror to you and say, "Hey, you're going through a big transition, and we're here to support you."