Good job, Jill. Well written.

What so many if us miss is the embarrassing reality that as we age, if we don’t do the hard deep work to keep our minds, bodies and attitudes juicy by challenging our inner bullshit and staying open, soft and curious, every single generation will suffer hardening of the emotional and intellectual arteries. You said it in your piece: the aging brain likes the familiar. Which is why, starting at sixty, I began a new career as an adventure traveler.That forces me into the unfamiliar, the new, the challenging. By definition this forces me to see with new eyes. That is one hell of a lifetime prescription for staying youthful accepting, open to diverse ideas and forever flexible. But that’s just me.

By writing what I do it is my dear wish to crowbar fellow Boomers and others off the comfy couch. Toss that fucking remote and go see the world as it is vs. how Fox describes.

That takes courage, Jill, which is in short supply all around. But for my part, and I can only speak for my own aging ass here, I have populated my world with brilliant people, including Millennials, of all colors and genders and cultures. It’s a constant education. I am often wrong about something, and someone is usually kind enough to set me straight. I don’t care who the messenger is. I only care that somebody is kind enough to offer the education.

But to your point: if you or I or anyone else is already walking around with a full cup of righteousness, there is no learning to be had.

Again, great piece.