Talk about serendipity! I came over here because you restacked a piece I wrote today and I wanted to both thank you and support you by subscribing. (Thank you. Subscribed.) And here you are, talking about my favorite subject (or is it my least favorite?) and the one I know most about--ageism.
I know most about it because I'm 86 and I've been feeling ageism's effects for, let's see...a long, long time.
You've said some dandy things here and I've latched onto every word.
I especially liked this:
"Brilliance and the ability to make a huge difference are not sole the purview of the young. It is the purview of all of us, should we stop barking at our sacred selves about the crime of getting older, being old."
Keep it up! We need all the help we can get.
And if you care to see how I REALLY feel about it, I have a section on it right here:
We gotta poke the bear, Ramona. I am so incredibly moved by stories of people late in life who find such purpose, drive and gifts which they simply couldn't have imagined earlier on. My GOD- if you'd told me at fifty that ten years later I'd be leaping into adventure travel? BWAHAHAHAHAHA. But that's life, isn't it? So full of treasures right around the corner.
At 48 I got lucky when I switched careers from commercial Interior Designer (desk job) to Deckhand on the San Francisco Bay Ferries. I was already working out, but keeping up with my younger crew mates has been the encouragement to be in my best shape ever, 20 years later. 🐸
I love this story, Lou. We honestly don't appreciate the value of labor until we do it and then reap the benefits. I'm a farm girl by birth, and the values I got out of having to do daily physical labor stick with me to this day. Nothing feels so very good as a sore body from honest hard work at day's end, and nothing is so gratifying as a body that is in shape late in life and which serves us well. Thank you!
My dad was a Cornell-educated radio man from the Forties. How he ended up raising chickens I will never know. But I am forever indebted to him for what farm life taught me, Lou.
I hosted a podcast for 4 years with the focus on women over 50. I talked to so many women from all over the world. These were women doing amazing things, including a woman who wrote her first book at 82, another who got her PhD at 62, and so many more. I loved all the conversations! Women over 50 are not slowing down and our stories need to be heard.
To your point- some years ago I started a women's group in Spokane where I cherry picked the best, brightest, most intense, talented and diverse women in the area. Black, Jewish, American Indian, HIspanic- all amazing. And we met via story. Breathtaking what we found. At the time i wasn't so interested in age, just powerful women, But my god, it took my breath away, Shelly. The stories we never hear!
Brilliant paradigm-shifting perspective that gives me hope post 50. With a new kind of brain (increasing crystalized intelligence), I feel like a new life is just beginning to take shape.
I hope corporations pay heed to this perspective because what we are seeing--ageism pushing out people in their 50s and 60s--is a tremendous waste of brain power.
That is so very true Louisa. Brooks' work is critical to understanding the extraordinary gifts that so many of us can't begin to realize until we have shed so much of what was laid upon us as children. When I consider your stories and your comments about your mother, what comes to mind is how much work we have to do to pull all that off our futures so that we can stop carrying our parents and finally become ourselves. That can take decades. Once my father passed, I felt a freedom I'd never known. When my mother finally passed, I was sad, but there was a sense of lightness- we are orphaned and empowered at the same time. Not without cost, but the rest of life is very much up to us.
Thank you for reflecting to me this complex experiencing of being orphaned and empowered at the same time. I can very much imagine myself feeling that in due course, and look forward to the true inner freedom when that happens. I am already starting to do the very painful work of shedding the generational and cultural burden that I have been carrying. It's tough work that I do every single day. I think you're absolutely spot on about the gifts that lie ahead of us. The thought of that gives me motivation to keep my body and brain in good health so I can fully enjoy the freedom, wisdom and agency that's only possible then.
Can you tell me the name of the book you referred to? I'm curious.
Isn't that a marvelous explanation, Jan? I read the book and loved it. While he doesn't spend enough time on the responsibility we have to keeping our bodies healthy, this point alone does so very much to help us understand why the huge turning we experience smack at midlife is so terrifying. We really are BECOMING. What an extraordinary idea.
Talk about serendipity! I came over here because you restacked a piece I wrote today and I wanted to both thank you and support you by subscribing. (Thank you. Subscribed.) And here you are, talking about my favorite subject (or is it my least favorite?) and the one I know most about--ageism.
I know most about it because I'm 86 and I've been feeling ageism's effects for, let's see...a long, long time.
You've said some dandy things here and I've latched onto every word.
I especially liked this:
"Brilliance and the ability to make a huge difference are not sole the purview of the young. It is the purview of all of us, should we stop barking at our sacred selves about the crime of getting older, being old."
Keep it up! We need all the help we can get.
And if you care to see how I REALLY feel about it, I have a section on it right here:
https://constantcommoner.substack.com/s/old-is-good
We gotta poke the bear, Ramona. I am so incredibly moved by stories of people late in life who find such purpose, drive and gifts which they simply couldn't have imagined earlier on. My GOD- if you'd told me at fifty that ten years later I'd be leaping into adventure travel? BWAHAHAHAHAHA. But that's life, isn't it? So full of treasures right around the corner.
Yes indeedy. Carry on!
At 48 I got lucky when I switched careers from commercial Interior Designer (desk job) to Deckhand on the San Francisco Bay Ferries. I was already working out, but keeping up with my younger crew mates has been the encouragement to be in my best shape ever, 20 years later. 🐸
I love this story, Lou. We honestly don't appreciate the value of labor until we do it and then reap the benefits. I'm a farm girl by birth, and the values I got out of having to do daily physical labor stick with me to this day. Nothing feels so very good as a sore body from honest hard work at day's end, and nothing is so gratifying as a body that is in shape late in life and which serves us well. Thank you!
I, too, grew up in the country on a small farm. Though it took some time, I now truly appreciate all the knowledge and skills I learned early.
My dad was a Cornell-educated radio man from the Forties. How he ended up raising chickens I will never know. But I am forever indebted to him for what farm life taught me, Lou.
I hosted a podcast for 4 years with the focus on women over 50. I talked to so many women from all over the world. These were women doing amazing things, including a woman who wrote her first book at 82, another who got her PhD at 62, and so many more. I loved all the conversations! Women over 50 are not slowing down and our stories need to be heard.
To your point- some years ago I started a women's group in Spokane where I cherry picked the best, brightest, most intense, talented and diverse women in the area. Black, Jewish, American Indian, HIspanic- all amazing. And we met via story. Breathtaking what we found. At the time i wasn't so interested in age, just powerful women, But my god, it took my breath away, Shelly. The stories we never hear!
That sounds like something I would love to be a part of!
It was an extraordinary group. It largely disbanded when I returned to Denver, as such groups do. But I remain friends with many to this day.
Brilliant paradigm-shifting perspective that gives me hope post 50. With a new kind of brain (increasing crystalized intelligence), I feel like a new life is just beginning to take shape.
I hope corporations pay heed to this perspective because what we are seeing--ageism pushing out people in their 50s and 60s--is a tremendous waste of brain power.
That is so very true Louisa. Brooks' work is critical to understanding the extraordinary gifts that so many of us can't begin to realize until we have shed so much of what was laid upon us as children. When I consider your stories and your comments about your mother, what comes to mind is how much work we have to do to pull all that off our futures so that we can stop carrying our parents and finally become ourselves. That can take decades. Once my father passed, I felt a freedom I'd never known. When my mother finally passed, I was sad, but there was a sense of lightness- we are orphaned and empowered at the same time. Not without cost, but the rest of life is very much up to us.
https://www.amazon.com/Strength-Finding-Success-Happiness-Purpose/dp/059319148X
Thank you for reflecting to me this complex experiencing of being orphaned and empowered at the same time. I can very much imagine myself feeling that in due course, and look forward to the true inner freedom when that happens. I am already starting to do the very painful work of shedding the generational and cultural burden that I have been carrying. It's tough work that I do every single day. I think you're absolutely spot on about the gifts that lie ahead of us. The thought of that gives me motivation to keep my body and brain in good health so I can fully enjoy the freedom, wisdom and agency that's only possible then.
Can you tell me the name of the book you referred to? I'm curious.
Cheers to crystalized intelligence -- and I LOVE the message that it stays with you for life!
Isn't that a marvelous explanation, Jan? I read the book and loved it. While he doesn't spend enough time on the responsibility we have to keeping our bodies healthy, this point alone does so very much to help us understand why the huge turning we experience smack at midlife is so terrifying. We really are BECOMING. What an extraordinary idea.