Solitude vs. Loneliness.
One is a choice. The other is a crisis.
ContinueChip Conley's daily blog: Thoughts on the art of living
One is a choice. The other is a crisis.
ContinueOne is a choice. The other is a crisis.
The first half of our lives is influenced by our tuition, paying for access to schools and teachers that allow us to accumulate knowledge. The second half of our life is influenced by our intuition, the gut instinct that is a conduit to our wisdom. Yet, while we’re used to paying tuition, how do we invest in our intuition (that’s a great topic for an MEA workshop, right?)?
Chip’s Note: Opposites attract or, at least as we age, our polarities alchemize. For this week’s posts, I’ve created a series of juxtapositions because I think so much can be learned in the context of this vs. that. In reality, the truth is somewhere in between, but there’s often a deeper relationship between these polarities than we might see on the surface. Ken Wilber said the "ultimate reality is a unity of opposites," which helps us understand that the journey of life is learning how to make sense of that which seems in discord. Hope you enjoy the next five posts.
Chip’s Note: Ellen is a joy to hangout with and I appreciate that she wrote this without any prompting regarding how amazing my friend BJ Fogg is. If you have a habit that needs some attention, I think you’ll like this guest post.
Chip’s Note: Caroline is a long-time friend and someone I’ve admired for her courage and authenticity. Her new book is awesome!
The challenge of being an author with a big publisher is that you deliver the final manuscript about a year before the book comes out, which means new ideas may percolate to the surface that won’t be captured in the published book.
Gravitas and levity are Latin words that represent seriousness and lightness, respectively. The wisest people I know intuitively recognize when a group could use a bit more of one or the other.
Recently, I found myself wrestling with the skepticism of an experienced luxury hotel professional. During his visit to our sprawling 2,566-acre MEA ranch campus near Santa Fe, he remarked, “You’re quite a risk taker.” Indeed, he wasn't wrong, but his tone felt like it might be less cheerleading and more cautionary. This led me to a day of introspection, pondering whether our ambitious project was a leap too far into the realm of the unconventional.
Have you heard about the new Happiness research? It revealed that, for the first time, the U.S. has dropped out of the top 20 happiest countries in the world. This downturn has been primarily attributed to the “young adult midlife crisis,” with those under 30 ranking 62nd out of 143 countries in terms of happiness, contrasting sharply with those aged 60 and above, who are in the top 10. So, maybe it’s not a U-Curve, but just a long, slow incline of life satisfaction for those in the U.S.? Whatever the case, it appears easier to be old than young.
Part of the reason I decided to write “Learning to Love Midlife” (https://bit.ly/48ag4FH) was because I didn’t feel there were many mainstream books that told the modern midlife story. But, I recently cracked open James Hollis’ insightful first book, “The Middle Passage,” and was reminded of just how influential this work of art was on my early thinking on midlife.
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