Aging

For the few of us who watched the Academy Awards this spring, you get a sense that this show isn’t made for those under 50 years old. Try as they might, the Oscar producers haven’t attracted the pre-50 crowd. And, AARP knows this as they debuted an ad targeting the GenX market featuring a middle-aged skateboarder representing the Nirvana generation.

One of the things I love about MEA is our spirited debates during meals overlooking the ocean. A few weeks ago, one of our Sabbatical Sessions guests told us that her daughter cautioned her, "Your age defines you, Mom!" Our guest responded with, "My stage in life might define me, but my age doesn’t."

In 1980, Diana Ross released the song "I’m Coming Out." In 1980, I was 21 years old and just graduated from college. I moved from Illinois to San Francisco. That song became the LGBTQ anthem, about declaring who you were and being proud.

Writing a daily blog post isn’t easy, but I do love it. It allows me to geek-out and read the work of many people I admire. And, occasionally, it allows me to pen a post that I can share with others far into the future. This is one of those.

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is a mind-twisting film starring Brad Pitt featuring a man who ages backwards. One of my new friends in New Mexico, Doug Lynam, who wrote a terrific book "From Monk to Money Manager” feels he’s lived his life in the opposite direction of convention having started a career with contemplation and shifted to a financial career in his forties.

Over the last five years, I've been on an intergenerational journey with my now 80-year-old mom for our documentary, DUTY FREE. To say our time together has been life-changing would be cutting the experience short. I've been able to ask my mom every question I've ever wanted to ask, I've cried with her, laughed with her, learned from her, and fought for her.

Of course, this is a very general question. In the U.S., we tend to answer based on our body or physical health and usually revolving around our age.

Our greatest ageism foe is often ourselves. How many of these statements or actions apply to you and may even seem perfectly normal but likely make you feel shameful about your age? And then think about the counter-response that accompanies that statement.

Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than forty years, I know the majesty of a towering redwood, the tallest tree on the planet. They can span more than 400 feet, which is taller than a 37-story skyscraper. A typical redwood lives for 500 to 700 years, although some have been documented at more than 2,000 years old, meaning that some of the coast redwoods living today were alive during the Roman Empire.

For the sixth straight year, the U.S. birthrate declined in 2020 and has fallen 20% since 2007. In addition, more restrictive immigration policies capped population growth as well. Recently released Census Bureau population estimates show that from July 1, 2019, to July 1, 2020, the nation grew by just 0.35%. This is the lowest annual growth rate since at least 1900.