Emotions

When in doubt, watch “It’s a Wonderful Life.” While some might see it as just another schmaltzy Christmas movie, if you look a little closer, the film can generate a psychological strength based upon many of the virtues Jimmy Stewart portrays as George Bailey: loyalty, selflessness, resilience, and, ultimately, community hero.

Uncertainty has never been on my guest list. He’s unpredictable and shows up whenever he wants. He’s also rude, ungrateful, and never offers to help with the dishes. Quite frankly, he takes up way too much space at the table.

Poet and philosopher Maya Angelou is so respected that MEA’s first cohort is named after her. She once wrote, “Be angry. It is right to be angry. It is healthy!”

Eight years ago, Mick Jagger said this about the Rolling Stones’ beloved song “Gimme Shelter:” “It was a very moody piece about the world closing in on you a bit...When it was recorded, early '69 or something, it was a time of war and tension, so that's reflected in this tune.

Today, I was perusing the “Emotional Survival Guide to Burning Man” I wrote seven years ago. I couldn’t help but notice the congruence with our current quarantine conditions: Islands are More Intense, Learn to Truly Surrender, Choose Your Nest Carefully, Stay Open and Curious, Tend to Your Hierarchy of Needs, and Learn How to Give and Receive Gifts.

Author Bill Bishop has suggested, “It used to be that people were born as part of a community, and had to find their place as individuals. Now people are born as individuals, and have to find their community.”

Is it true that as we age, we develop a smarter heart and a more passionate brain? There is growing social science research that suggests our EQ may increase with age and lead to higher levels of subjective well-being in midlife and later. Science aside, I couldn’t agree more.

One of the collateral benefits of creating the Modern Elder Academy is the people we meet along the way. Poet Mark Nepo will be on our MEA master faculty next year and he sent me this just-penned piece of prose a couple of hours before we graduated our 50th cohort so I could share this exquisite piece of writing with them at their graduation ceremony this past Saturday evening. Proud to share “The Anthem of Our Day” with you as well.

Nowadays, you hear stories of Italians singing from their apartments to deserted streets, or kids writing lists about how their parents can be kinder to each other. This makes me hopeful, and wonder if it’s possible that this global timeout could create an opportunity for a global reset?

When the leading candidate for the U.S. Democratic Presidential nomination creates a “No-Malarkey” tour through Iowa, you know that’s a bus of the “old school” variety. “Look, folks, here’s the deal…” maybe we’ve entered an era when retro wisdom might be our friend? World War III seems to be a virus.