This is 54: Author Elizabeth Gilbert Responds to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire
Sari Bottonsubstack.com
This is 54: Author Elizabeth Gilbert Responds to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire
“We all spend our twenties and thirties trying so hard to be perfect, because we’re so worried about what people will think of us. Then we get into our forties and fifties, and we finally start to be free, because we decide that we don’t give a damn what anyone thinks of us. But you won’t be completely free until you reach your sixties and seventie
... See moreElizabeth Gilbert • Big Magic: How to Live a Creative Life, and Let Go of Your Fear
During the so-called afternoon of life, we often shift our focus from what has been called the “résumé” qualities of our youth (what we do) to “eulogy” qualities (who we are), said Chip Conley, author of “Learning to Love Midlife.” But making that shift isn’t always automatic, so Conley suggested an exercise.
**List old identities that no longer ref
... See morehttps://www.nytimes.com/by/jancee-dunn • Midlife Doesn’t Have to Be a Crisis
Mike "Bagel" added
Could be a good exercise for the community.
woman in her mid-seventies, who offered me a superb piece of life wisdom. She said: “We all spend our twenties and thirties trying so hard to be perfect, because we’re so worried about what people will think of us. Then we get into our forties and fifties, and we finally start to be free, because we decide that we don’t give a damn what anyone thin
... See moreElizabeth Gilbert • Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
The Puzzling Gap Between How Old You Are and How Old You Think You Are
Jennifer Seniortheatlantic.com
drena and added
Many older individuals feel a greater sense of freedom with age, inviting them to chase their truest selves, and leave the unimportant angst behind. In a culture where angst seems to prevail, and young people face uncertain futures, aging with joy is a radical act of humanity. And the conversation is changing to reflect this.
Amanda R. Martinez • Many People Have A Fear Of Aging; These Helpers Ask: What If We Aged With Joy Instead?
Keely Adler and added
Old age is much better than we think it will be. For a lot of people who read the book, I think they will wind up being a lot less fearful about the last third of life, and much more optimistic. As one person told me: “My advice about growing old? I’d tell them to find the magic.”
Karl Pillemer, Interview No. 2
Johanna added
I do not think of old age as an ever grimmer time that one must somehow endure and make the best of, but as a time of leisure and freedom, freed from the factitious urgencies of earlier days, free to explore whatever I wish, and to bind the thoughts and feelings of a lifetime together.
Oliver Sacks • Gratitude
