So, this Medium article (https://bit.ly/3uo1nAn) by Tris Harkness with the provocative title above caught my eye. Here’s her opening two paragraphs:

At your intergenerational family Thanksgiving dinner, did you have a spirited discussion about the President’s age? Based upon an informal survey of a dozen friends, “talking turkey” about Joe was the #1 topic at the dinner table.

Older Americans hold most of the country’s wealth, but they also are the fastest-growing age demographic when it comes to their percentage of the economy’s spending, as evidenced by this graphic below that was in this recent Wall Street Journal story (https://on.wsj.com/3GdIWkE). While the historical narrative has been that older people are more affected by economic turbulence (especially inflation), this story suggests that their finances are relatively healthy. They have less need to borrow, so they’re not as affected by higher interest rates and are less at risk of layoffs than other consumers.

A few weeks ago, I made my usual trek to work. I got in the car and tried to catch up on texts and emails pausing to remind myself of my goal for the week. What I had re-defined success would be for me twenty-four hours later. I took breaths, found integrity, thanked my driver, and hurried across the stars that line the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Somehow, I was already normalizing passing by the giant marquis inviting others into this project, through the lobby of the iconic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, past the Marilyn Monroe mirror, down the steps Shirley Temple learned to tap dance on and into the theater.

Since I’ve become a part of the MEA community the past two years, the notion of “purpose” has become more conscious to me since it's one of the MEA pillars. I’ve enjoyed hanging around with purpose…learning about others’ relationship with purpose and exploring mine.

This was shared by a friend. The source states that it was borrowed and they don't know who to credit it to, but thank you, whoever you are! If you have not yet seen this, you may find some important life lessons. It feels like a good Thanksgiving lesson.

At the beginning of the holiday season, transitions seem particularly difficult. What we are exposed to and learn at MEA is how the “messy middle" is a challenge that we are often not prepared for.

I learned ballroom dancing in 6th grade at Call’s Dance Studio in middle-class Long Beach, California. It was quite a production as it was as much about learning masculine and feminine roles and etiquette as it was learning the mechanics of ballroom dancing.

Yesterday, when I saw a friend, she greeted me with the title of today’s blog post. I wonder what she’ll say today after I start my seven and a half weeks of daily targeted radiation to my pelvis, where my prostate cancer has spread. I’m not sure radiation will “glow me” or “dim me,” but I know the day after I finish this regimen (and continue my hormone depletion therapy), I fly to NYC to launch my book on “Good Morning, America,” “The Today Show,” and a variety of other book signings, media interviews, and parties. 

A week ago, my TED talk (go.ted.com/chipconley23) about the Midlife Chrysalis got published suggesting that a caterpillar consumes, a chrysalis transforms, and a butterfly pollinates, mirroring our early adulthood, our midlife, and our modern elder years.