Two days later, I pulled the car over and applied to attend the Modern Elder Academy.

I was accepted and booked for a week in December, but three weeks before my departure, I suffered an accident that meant I couldn’t travel.

Riddled with FOMO, I followed my cohort on Facebook. They rocked the week. And I felt envious and broken and left out.

But then I remembered a few of the Stoic principles Chip talked about in his book.

So much is out of our control. We can’t control the driver who hits us, or the boss who manages us out. But we can refuse to get stuck in the cycle of blame or self-pity. We can appreciate what we have.

Setbacks are opportunities. When we are forced to slow down, we can decide what is essential. We might even make stillness a permanent part of life.

Whenever we get there, the time will be right. Once we put FOMO aside, we can appreciate that we are on the right path: the one that Nature has laid out for us.

Indeed, all is well. I’m rescheduled to attend a future MEA week.

And now I know: That time will be exactly right.


Barbara Brooks is a writer, consultant, solo-preneur/founder of Flamingo Strategies, LLC, and a new MEA alum. Her blog is Hacking Away at Happiness, where she searches for truth and beauty—at 60-Plus.