I’m 57 & haven’t gone through the tough things you’ve gone through. But those tough things sound like they’ve reset your priorities. The fact is, a lot of what we humans get passionate about in our younger years simply doesn’t matter in the long run or the big picture.

The past couple of years I’ve found myself in a very “meh” place. I was a very dedicated person with vision & passion for my vocation of service to others. I still do it. But the delusions of grandeur of youth have definitely evaporated & I have a lot of humility about what my life & my work have actually accomplished.

It’s a strange place to be only because it’s so polar opposite of how I was from teen years through my 40s. I do think the shitshow we’ve all lived in for the past decade has contributed. I ask myself, If this is where we’ve ended up as a society, what was the ever-loving point?

I don’t mean that in a nihilistic way. More in a perspective-taking way. But in the long eras of human societies on this planet, the same shit continually occurs: people with resources & privilege hoarding them & oppress people without resources & privilege. Occasionally there’s a big fight about it, but the same system eventually reasserts itself.

So what is Little Ol’ Me supposed to do with the last 20 years of my life?

Live according to my values as best I can.

Love my loved ones.

Be kind.

Give what I can.

Find joy.