Before he died, Indianapolis businessman Terry Kahn gave his attorney one unusual instruction: Do not spend money on an obituary. Kahn did not believe anyone would be interested in reading about his life. He was wrong. When Kahn died in 2021, he left behind an estate worth
“I don’t know.” Three simple words. Perhaps among the hardest words for adults to say. When we’re young, we often believe maturity means accumulating answers. School rewards certainty. Careers reward expertise. Society admires confidence. We learn to project assurance, even when we feel anything but certain inside. Yet something
Everything changes. Wisdom begins when we stop being surprised by it. For nearly twenty years, the remains of a famous writer sat forgotten. Not in a cemetery. Not beneath a marble monument. Not scattered at sea. In a filing cabinet. After her death, Dorothy Parker's ashes were sent to her attorney's
Certainty can be helpful. It lets us make choices, commit to them, and stay steady when life feels unpredictable. But there’s another side to certainty. If we hold on to it too tightly, our world can shrink. We might stop listening or stop questioning what
Inner work in later life doesn’t usually begin with a decision. It shows up in small moments—a reaction that lingers, a thought that returns, a feeling that doesn’t quite pass. Not everything that unsettles us is meant to be solved. Some things are meant to be
Humility in later life is often misunderstood as a lowering of oneself. In practice, it is closer to making room—an openness that allows something beyond our own certainty to enter. It does not draw attention to itself. But without it, a life can begin to narrow. Traditions
Doubt in later life is not always a crisis of faith. Last Sunday’s reflection considered a stretch of life where certainty no longer works the way it once did—not as a failure, but as something most of us encounter along the way. Building on that, this week,
Theodore Roosevelt was anything but cautious. He moved quickly, took on fights others avoided, and usually came out ahead. When challenged, he pushed back harder. He had already been president. Still, it wasn’t enough. After his tenure in the White House, he sought a new challenge. Roosevelt found it
Retirement is supposed to bring relief. More time. Fewer demands. A different pace. And for many, it does. But after a while, something else becomes noticeable. The day is no longer organized for you. It is less clear where you are needed. The answer to “What do you do?” takes a
Last week we reflected on katabasis—the descent. The Greeks paired that word with another: anabasis, a going up. Not a return to the way things were, but a movement into something that follows. After a difficult stretch of life, there are times when a person begins