When I envision myself at 100, active with meaningful work, surrounded by family, I’m not fantasizing about an elusive ideal. I’m anticipating an old age like I’ve seen in Spain and Japan, particularly Okinawa, both of which top the longevity lists. There, people don’t just rack up the years but enjoy an impressive quality of life beyond their 80s.
Pressing pause feels unnatural. To step back from our constant forward plunge, we need permission (a vacation, parental leave). Even for planned and pleasant pauses, over 50% of Americans who have the benefit don’t take all the paid leave our jobs provide. And we maintain our work umbilical cord via our phones and laptops. Going off the grid is so radical we proclaim it like a call to revolution. Inertia carries us forward as if a change in velocity or trajectory