People don’t want you to change. We have a “quid pro status quo” with most people in our lives. If I don’t change, you don’t change. Yet, comfort breeds apathy. And, if there was ever a time to experience some post-traumatic growth, this might be the time.

The whole MEA library is full of books that speak to the way of transition, but there’s one particular section called “How can I evolve?” that best captures the navigation of midlife transitions. William Bridges’ trailblazing book “Transitions” is there, but so is this book written twenty years later by Bridges which has the subtitle, “Embracing Life’s Most Difficult Moments.”

I’m a proud member of “Metaphors Anonymous” and a self-avowed “punner” (different than a “pundit,” who are the real smart folks). Metaphors and puns are woven into my existence and my writing, for better or worse. Similes make me smile.

Some are calling it the Great Cessation. Others the Great Pause. But, below is a lovely brief video bedtime story dedicated to a future better than our past. Maybe it’s time to create our own parable during this time of paralysis?

When I was a teenager, one of my teachers called me a fine "prognosticator." I had no idea what she was talking about. For all I knew, this proper Christian mentor of mine could have been calling me a "pornographer." But I sensed it was a positive quality, so I accepted the compliment.

Stuff. The world is full of it. The United States has 50,000 mini-storage facilities comprising 2.5 billion square feet of rental space. We pay money to store stuff we don’t need nor often see. I say enough is truly enough!

Introduction by Chip Conley: The beginning of my 2013 sojourn working with Airbnb was almost simultaneous to when a middle class Baby Boomer couple from Seattle, Debbie and Michael Campbell, chose to go out on the road for what has now been seven years of adventure.

When the 9/11 tragedy happened, it was 6 am in San Francisco. I was awoken by a panicked call from my friend Janine who was on the east coast and could barely speak. I spent the day in my bathrobe in our construction zone of a home with my partner Donald and a couple dozen construction workers glued to the TV. The day is seared into my heart as everything changed so suddenly, horrifically.

As many of you know, we have an MEA Library with more than 400 books in 25 sections each defined by a question, not a topic. This is my favorite book in the section defined by, “What are the socio-political implications of aging?”

I am a physician. I love people and care for them from the depths of my soul. When people first see me, they don’t see a doctor, they first see a black woman. I am a black woman with a black father, brother, nephews and cousins. I love them all.