Chip Conley

“We don’t let go of anything until we have exhausted all the possible ways that we might keep holding on to it.” - William Bridges

“The problem in middle life, when the body has reached its climax of power and begins to decline, is to identify yourself, not with the body, which is falling away, but with the consciousness of which it is a vehicle. This is something I learned from myths. What am I? Am I the bulb that carries the light? Or am I the light of which the bulb is a vehicle? One of the psychological problems in growing old is the fear of death. People resist the door of death. But this body is a vehicle of consciousness, and if you can identify with the consciousness, you can watch this body go like an old car. There goes the fender, there goes the tire, one thing after another— but it’s predictable. And then, gradually, the whole thing drops off, and consciousness rejoins consciousness.” Joseph Campbell, “The Power of Myth”

Dorothy Hoffner is one of those few folks who survived both the Spanish flu pandemic a century ago and the recent Covid pandemic.

Yesterday was my 63rd birthday so I was flooded with memories.

We're all familiar with the $600-billion anti-aging industrial complex, which is basically an anti-women enterprise since most of these products target women. Simultaneously, we have a growing bio-hacking movement trying to decode the secrets to living forever. It is a movement fueled mainly by rich tech entrepreneurs and feels like an all too familiar "male conquest."

This summer, Travel & Leisure magazine published an article (https://bit.ly/3FqZoNU) about the 24 most beautiful places in Mexico and our little farming and fishing village, Pescadero, was at the top of their list.

When I saw the title of this recent New York Times article (https://bit.ly/3QqrzmC), I quickly checked to see if it was written by one of our MEA faculty members or alums. It wasn’t, but the article profiles one of our favorite academics, Dr. Becca Levy, who’s spoken to our MEA community.

I feel like a little kid at Christmas time who has asked for a bunch of gifts and can see the shape of the presents under the tree—a Hot Wheels track, a GI Joe, and a basketball. I can hardly wait to rip open the wrapping paper and start playing. Of course, as a 63-year-old, my gifts nowadays are the friends and thought leaders we attract to MEA—the gifted facilitators we are fortunate enough to co-lead workshops with. And believe me when I tell you that next July is shaping up to be a time of many gifts.

For those of you who’ve experienced an MEA workshop, you know that we’re a midwife for midlife epiphanies, and magic often shows up in the middle of the classroom. I’ve suggested that part of what’s happening is “collective effervescence,” when our sense of ego separation dissolves, and a sense of communal joy arises based on our shared mission or ethos.

At the airport recently, I heard a little piece of what I would consider unintended ageism passed on from a mother to her six-year-old daughter.