According to the Mayan tradition, the universe is a unified force where everything is related—you, me, animals, plants, minerals, everything. As the Mayans put it, "I am the other you. You are the other me." In other words, we belong to each other.

The Law of Inertia, also called Newton’s first law, states if a body is at rest or moving at a constant speed in a straight line, it will remain at rest or keep moving in a straight line at constant speed unless it is acted upon by a force. I wonder if Newton was talking about the human condition as well as physical objects.

I’m proud to be a Board member of Encore.org that has sprouted so many innovations for those of us over 50— from The Purpose Prize to Experience Corps to the Encore Fellows program. Three senior leaders from the org recently penned this essay on why non-profits are such ripe territory for the wisdom of experienced leaders looking for a second or third act.

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."

An Algorithm for Caring: Healing the World, One Caring Conversation at a Time. Theodore Roosevelt famously said, "Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care."

The premise for today’s quick post comes from Dr. Mark Goulston (whose guest blog post will appear tomorrow). I love the title of this post, so don’t be surprised if this becomes an MEA workshop in the not-too-distant future.

Many of you are familiar with recent social science research that has shown a U-curve of happiness in which adult life satisfaction supposedly dips to its nadir around age 47.2 (your mileage may vary). The forties have been a historically treacherous and ultimately triumphant decade when mid-lifers feel a declining sense of happiness, only to start improving in the latter part of that decade.

Much has been written about the needs of the evolving workplace, with specialists in decline and generalists on the rise. David Epstein’s superb book "Range" captures this new perspective on leadership. However, it is a new study that has recently been getting some traction amongst HR executives.

I hosted my first-ever Future Funeral recently (in two sessions: virtually on May 10, and in-person on May 22). I promised myself that it won't be the last. The reason is simple: I learned a tremendous amount from it, so did my 'guests,' and all those who heard about it from different parts of the world but couldn't join either of the sessions personally.

My co-founders, Christine and Jeff, and I frequently get asked this question when people make the MEA pilgrimage to our coastal “calle sin nombre” at the end of a bumpy, dusty road. The terrain often makes them a little suspicious.