External Age Never Matches Internal Age
My mom's Six-Word Memoir (the headline above) resonates during a recent visit to a senior community. Plus: the return of "Six Words Live."
Special announcement! My first “Six Words Live!” backstory show since the before times is happening on July 19 in San Francisco. Theme: “Where Do We Go From Here?” More information and tickets here.
The Wisdom of Ages
Among the bounty of unexpected gifts from my four-plus years in Columbus, Ohio, was living next door to Julian. He turned 90 while we were neighbors, didn’t stop driving until he was 94, and never stopped swimming—right up until he passed away a year after we moved. Watching my six-year-old son march over to his porch to chat about books and the Buckeyes and see the two of them share stories was pure joy.
I love intergenerational wisdom and have found that you need to be intentional about finding spaces where different generations mix. As such, I’ve been diving into the world’s first wisdom school, Modern Elder Academy, where members range from 35 to 92. I’ve also been working with Sidebar, a professional growth community that spans generations, where I seem to have carved out a niche as a “mature” storytelling expert, helping founders and team leaders tell the story of their companies with more clarity and concision.
Helping people tell stories is deeply meaningful work—and also deeply meaningful play. So when my friend Laura Turbow asked if I’d lead a Six-Word Memoir session with a group of women she meets with each week at Piedmont Gardens, a senior living center in Oakland, I jumped in. Laura’s enthusiasm for this group was contagious, and the women did not disappoint. They showed up and brought their full selves to the table, sharing stories rich with lifelong wisdom (“New teacher, new kids, what fun!”), sorrow (“Sadness is a chance to grieve”), a sense of shared community (“Good company exists at Piedmont Gardens”), and the power of storytelling itself (“Don’t miss the stranger’s life story”). My time with “Laura’s Ladies” was a highlight of spring.
Six in the World: The Doctor Is In
Hardly a week goes by without the six word form popping up in popular culture—and when it does, my inboxes light up with messages from friends saying, “Did you see this [fill in delightful and/or horrifying use of the form]?” A recent favorite come via the tech and culture site Mashable where writer Chris Taylor dives into the recurring rumors that Doctor Who may not be renewed. “You can’t kill Doctor Who,” he writes and then quotes the Doctor’s first-ever Six-Word Memoir: “I'm born. I die. I’m reborn.”
And then there’s this New York Times headline…
As the six word saying goes: may we live in interesting times.
Fascinating 💕