Living alone, asymmetric life, and drawing
RWL #413
Greetings from The University of New Hampshire! Fall is officially here, even though we have been seeing the signs for a while now. You know, like 12,000 students descending on our little town. But also the leaves are starting to turn, and the fruit trees in my father’s yard are giving up their yield. We collected two kinds of pears this weekend, all organic, so maybe a little “ugly” as he says, but they taste great. I have a pear custard pie recipe I intend to try. I’ll let you know what I think. Maybe even share a picture.
It’s been a crazy busy time, which is why you are getting this Wednesday newsletter after 9PM instead of first thing in the morning. Crazy, but mostly in a good way. Like, for example, this afternoon I hosted retired entrepreneur and University System of New Hampshire board member Jackie Eastwood in my post-practicum course for my seniors. Jackie and her husband Mike built a medical device company in eight years using patents they licensed from Medtronic into a $550M company. So I asked Jackie to come talk to my seniors about her experiences and what it was like to take those risks. She’s irreverent and very funny, so the kids really liked her. We’ll be doing a Health Leader Forge episode some time in the future, so I look forward to sharing that with you.
This week’s links really get at the core of what I am trying to do with this newsletter now - explore human flourishing. What does it take to live a good and worthy life? I think that’s the through-line. I hope you find them as interesting as I did.
As usual, willing good for all of you!
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Read
What: KFF Health News, Historic Numbers of Americans Live by Themselves as They Age
Why: 28% of people over 65 live alone. Living alone presents a number of challenges, including loneliness.
In lengthy conversations, these seniors expressed several common concerns: How did I end up alone at this time of life? Am I OK with that? Who can I call on for help? Who can make decisions on my behalf if I’m unable to? How long will I be able to take care of myself, and what will happen when I can’t?
Interesting throughout.
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Watch
What: Last Lecture Series: “How to Live an Asymmetric Life,” Graham Weaver (33 min)
Why: I talk about asymmetry a lot, thanks to reading Nassim Taleb’s Antifragile. This video doesn’t reference Taleb, but he does talk about some of the principles. You have to find the right risks - risks where the downsides are small and the upsides are large. They do exist. He has other points as well. The whole thing is worth listening to. You can definitely just listen.
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Listen
What: People I (mostly) admire, Drawing from Life (and Death) (62 min)
Why: I’ve not been drawing regularly for a while now. I miss it some days. This made me think about why I like it, even though I’m not very good. A couple of quotes:
"Drawing is just slowing down and looking really closely"
"when we slow down we can be present to each other in a different way"
Some interesting discussion about finding your calling, death and dying, and more. It’s an interesting conversation.