Celebrating Ageing, Italy & Syria
Sucking on Sweetness, Anywhere
The man turned 70. He looks pretty happy.
As most of you know, the research (from Becca Levy at Yale) says that a positive attitude to ageing can gift you an extra 7.5 years of life. So, I’m a bit invested in making sure the man is happy (and healthy, but that was last week’s message). I particularly like to make a fuss over birthdays, something my mom always did for me. It’s nice to feel that one day in the year is designed with just you in mind. And these big birthdays deserve a little extra boost.
Especially as the world seems to harden and coarsen with every passing day, and the news grim in so many quarters. I’m considering giving up my New York Times subscription, as wading through each new dire news story of Trump’s latest appointment is enough to shorten any lifespan. Not to mention the mess in South Korea, France melting down, Brazil’s Lula in intensive care, and the ongoing tragedies in Ukraine and now Georgia.
Although the news from Syria, no matter what happens next, is balm for the soul. Fifty-three years of Assad père & fils is more than any country should have to bear. As the prisoners of endless jails emerge into the light, sometimes for the first time in years, some unremembering of their own names, man’s inhumanity to man sears into your brain - and your kids’ understanding of the world.
“But despair is not a policy, writes The Economist. “At the least, the Assads’ fall is a repudiation of Iran and Russia, two stokers of global chaos. And witness the jubilation in Syria this week: a nation exhausted by war could yet choose the long road towards peace.”
You can’t help but share in the rejoicing as the statues topple.
Songs for the Seventies - Health, Happiness & Help
So when a speaking gig in Bologna pops into the agenda near the fateful birthday day, it’s too good to resist. Like Cartagena or Cascais, Bologna is a perfectly romantic proposition. Not too big, not too touristy, just the right combination of ancient beauty, stylish contemporary boutiques, and endless museums and churches that reward the curious wanderer. Full of miles and miles (62 kms to be exact) of Unesco-protected porticoes, winding pedestrian streets and endless, glorious culinary nooks and crannies.
The pasta, often home made in front of you in the window, is beyond belief. Why it can taste so much better in Italy than anywhere else, I don’t know. Ditto the coffee. A few days of this is like a reminder of what man can accomplish. That such beauty, style and deliciousness exists reminds you of what we are capable of.
So what do you wish someone who is moving into their eighth decade of life? Or their eleventh 7-year cycle (I work a lot with 7-year life chunks)? Here’s what I wished him for the decade ahead: health, happiness and help.
Health - Because all the rest is detail. See last week’s blog. And the t-shirt above.
Happiness - At this point in life, you don’t know how much time you have left, which contributes hugely to savouring the sweet nectar of each day, each meeting and each loving interaction. Life is short, and if you’re lucky and listening, bits of it can be sweet indeed. So here’s the little sculpture I found to remind him of all we have, a little bronze hummingbird sucking in sweetness for dear life.
Help - A friend was recently horrified by someone offering up their seat on the metro. She found it offensive and ageist. I found it kind and considerate. I think part of good ageing is to be increasingly ready to receive support and input from others. My man, like so many, hates asking for help. He seems to see it as some kind of weird admission of failure. Too many people see assistance as an attack on their abilities (and hence their independence). But this is a scarcity mindset. That someone helping somehow takes some of your faculties away. On the contrary. A bit like AI, we need to figure out how to accept getting powered up by others (including machines) while retaining and developing our humanity.
In this spirit, I was delighted to discover, when speaking at a recent Bosch event, that they were developing all kinds of neat products for the older market. One of their executives proudly shared one of his favourites, a set of electric pruning shears called Easy Prune, where the power sets in when your own grip flags, kind of like an electric bike. So perfect both as birthday gift and metaphor. (I promise I get no cut on this, no pun intended).
The 70’s, some research shows, is the happiest decade in life. As I find the 60’s are a delightful pinnacle of life so far, I’m very curious to see if that’s true for the man. I’ll keep you posted.
What’s your seventies songsheet?
Don’t Suck The Substance
Serendipitously, we went to see a late movie all about ageing. Surrounded by young charming young Italian students, we were, by far, the oldest people in the cinema. So it was a funny context to watch a film starring 62-year old Demi Moore making a Dorian-Gray-deal with the devil. She can live through a younger self, and alternate weeks with her, as long as the two selves remember they are part of the same whole.
This absurdly gory and disgusting film has lots of heavy-handed subtexts about misogyny and ageism. Kudos to Demi Moore for courageously agreeing to turn her ‘10’ loveliness into horrific mush. But I loved the hugely relevant theme that young people fear and hate their older selves. And are willing to literally kill them in order to get a little more - fun, sex or fame in their youths. That it is almost impossible for the young to imagine themselves old, while the reverse is often an exercise in nostalgia and loss. And that our youth-addled cultures wreak untold (and hard to watch) violence on their elders.
I’m not sure I’d recommend the film. Nor am I sure that the young folk watching it around us will take the same message from it that I did. It’s up for a bunch of awards, and I hope that winning some of them will open up the conversation around age in the media and movies.
Companies (Slowly) Awaken
Finally, I spent an afternoon with the Hera Group. For 15 years, their corporate university has been keeping Italian business leaders abreast of the latest trends. Last year was AI. This year it's demographics. Since Italy is now the oldest country in Europe, prioritisation is essential. This leading Italian utility company has been focusing on it for years.
Nice to see initiatives in different countries pushing to get the longevity revolution on the strategic agenda. Like Michael Clinton's ROAR network in the US, the Club Landoy in France, in Canada with my friend Mehbs Remtulla's Next50 recent roundtable for HR Directors. There’s also Nancy and Michael Hodin's Global Coalition on Aging and their Silver Economy conference (in Berlin this year), and the Silver Marketing Association’s Summit (in London). As well, of course, as more established players like AARP's LLEL network and the wonderful reports the OECD has been delivering. There’s a big conference getting off the ground in Mexico too, thanks to a graduate of my Lisbon-based Longevity Leadership Programme, Cesar Garcia. The message is beginning to get through.
Know of any other national initiatives gathering business leaders together to prepare for the 2nd Billion (people over 60) coming our world's way by 2050? Do let me know, I'll continue writing and podcasting about best practices.
