Remember that song?

Seeing clearly is the great gift of lifelong learning and MEA. We begin to see that we’ve been making shit up all of our lives.

The first time someone asked me if I was retired, I went into a funk. Then I got the senior discount without asking for it. Time may be a great healer, but it’s a lousy beautician. That’s when I understood Chip Conley’s term: facial discrimination. Those incidents were just data before they entered my operating system. I added the meaning and built my own story around it based on my ego and my societal programming. I was just making shit up.

I used to be ashamed to admit my age. I thought people wouldn’t notice. Making shit up again. I’m quite the creative genius when it comes to making up stories about what other people are thinking. I’m 77 and proud of it now.

Yes, ageism exists, and many will view me as an irrelevant old man. But that’s their story, not mine. Those dark clouds are like vampires. When we shine the light of clear thinking on them, they go back to their coffin.

Let’s quit making shit up and see clearly. The rest of our life is ahead of us and there’s work that needs to be done.

Pat Whitty is a certified health coach, workplace wellness consultant, and Modern Elder Whisperer from San Antonio, TX.