I love being around young people, or should I say people younger than me. There’s a vitality, energy, and stamina for life that is contagious. Now, do I find myself trying to do the TikTok dances or wearing parachute-sized baggy jeans to keep up? Why? As cool as GenXers are, we are not interested in being told what to wear or do, so no.
Well, I am quite a Tshwala Bam god. I was not blessed with these shoulders for nothing.
However, the real action is when I am around the veterans. Those folks over fifty whose “eyes have cleared” and the adulting BS and nonsense is no longer part of the equation. It has even inspired an initiative that I am working on called Sage, stay tuned. There is a clarity, freedom, a realization that is very difficult to find in the younger folks who are still figuring things out. I shouldn’t even say that, as many of the sages are also still figuring it out. In fact, they are re-figuring it out. And it is a wonderful thing.
I saw a Twitter thread that put some serious emotional spasms in my system. The gems that were dropped by these older folks were about regrets, loss, and things they wish they had known at a younger age are priceless. And they all have the same themes around money, relationships, and freedom. The dude who spoke about his father? Eish.
I would love to do one of these in Africa, see what their takes on these topics are and if they are different from what these folks shared. Kudos to Yair Brachiyahu (@YairBrachiyahu on TikTok) for finding these folks and capturing their gems.
Please indulge me and watch the following videos. They are short, but whew, pack a Thanos-level punch…if they don’t hit you the way they hit me, then bobo/sista mi…your own don finish be dat.
(here’s the Twitter thread—https://x.com/MrPassive_/status/1777677318611255482)
I told you.
We roll.