Dear Explorers,
It’s been a hot minute.
The Human Atlas is now RE-TURN ON WISDOM
A place where we celebrate lived experience wisdom
RE-TURN ON WISDOM was born around a campfire in Baja California, Mexico at the Modern Elder Academy.
In many cultures, gathering around the campfire to share stories and lived experiences across the ages is a sacred ritual.
Think of this newsletter as a digital campfire community. Are you ready to gather with me?
RE-TURN ON WISDOM is a storytelling project: chats with people who have lived over 18,000 days - that’s over 50 years of life experiences.
There is true value in time accrued and wisdom gained.
So why are we here?
This is an invitation.
We are building a growing library of lived experience wisdom, together.
If you have lived over 18,000 days (50+ years) we provide you with a private place to reflect while also delivering bite-sized wisdom here to help guide future generations.
Everyone’s path is unique, but we can all benefit from the walkers ahead.
So how does it work?
RE-TURN ON WISDOM is a powerful way to be of service - we learn and grow from lived experience wisdom, together.
If you or someone you know has lived over 18,000 days we invite you to contribute to our WISDOM QUIZ
Privacy is important to us and every contributor to this project will have the choice to remain anonymous.
This newsletter will be the place where we share wisdom in accessible, relevant and engaging ways.
So what's the backstory here?
Around the campfire in Baja California, Mexico at the Modern Elder Academy (MEA), I learnt that:
‘Wisdom isn’t taught, it’s shared’
It was my ‘Baja-Aha’.
Long-time mentor Chip Conley coined the term ‘Modern Elder’ to describe someone ‘As curious as they are wise’. Five years ago, I sent a cold-call email to Chip, declaring my dedication to elevating modern elder wisdom with the wider world.
That dedication grows with strength every day within me. In five years, I have taught Intergenerational Wisdom Sharing at MEA and around the world, captured over 140 oral histories of 50+ year-olds, trained as a Death Doula/end-of-life guide, developed a narrative-psychology-based storytelling methodology and re-connected thousands of humans through the power of sharing lived experience stories. And we are only just getting started.
For me personally - ageing is a privilege. It is about wisdom, experiences and knowledge gained - not about ‘how old you are’
Over the last two decades, I have been bridging the gap between age groups, fostering a deep understanding of the invaluable wisdom that sometimes only lands with experience, time and age.
RE-TURN ON WISDOM is a term Chip originally coined. I’m honoured to have permission to use this term and mission. A further nod to my legacy life commitment:
To elevate and celebrate lived experience wisdom
I look forward to us re-connecting around the campfire to share our stories.
- Nim
ON RE-TURNING