Emotions

Aaron Taylor wears two Super Bowl rings on his brawny fingers. He’s also a part of our MEA guest faculty, where he introduced us to the concept of the Three Vaults in our MEA workshops. You might look at the vaults as how we approach the world or, more accurately, how we choose to be seen in the world.

This past weekend I was blessed to pay tribute to one of the MEA community’s finest humans, someone who I considered to be one of my best friends!

I love this day for all kinds of reasons and am excited to be spending it with my family here in the Bay Area. But, I also love this time of year and appreciate that MEA alum John Anderson shared this lovely quote from inventor and writer Lin Yutang on the beauty of autumn:

I poked my head out the door and saw a massive hog charging toward me, snorting with fierce energy, chased by the butcher. I was nine years old, newly moved to Germany from Arizona, and living with my family in a "Gasthaus" -- the 1960's version of an Airbnb.

I’ve been thinking a lot about our kitchen table lately. Well-worn and inexpensive, it’s one of the centerpieces of furniture in our house, partly because it’s in the kitchen eating area, but more because it is where so much of our life has happened.

A year of nomading and grieving. A year of honoring and not fixing. A year of active and empathic listening. A year of loving, not just others, but myself. A year of powerful badassery. A year exploring and navigating being Just to The Left of Death three times.

“My name is Shawn and if you really really knew me, you would know that I am both ecstatic and terrified to be working with this organization that is rethinking what it means to be an elder.

Investing in joy is an investment in sustainable community health. California can be first in the nation to fight the other epidemic in the news -- loneliness -- by creating a State Department of Joy. Its goal: to actively support and advocate for togetherness, quality human connection, and celebration.

A long-time female friend confided in me that she went to her college reunion not long ago and one of her male classmates offered her the observation that serves as today's blog post title. She felt mixed about this as she was a true hottie in the day and had staked her identity on turning heads.

The name of today’s post mirrors Anthea Pretorius’ poetry book that was published last year. She says, "Sometimes these short poems can be very thought provoking. I often say that a haiku is an unfinished poem. I start the story and tell only a fragment and the reader completes the story in their imaginations."