# Chapter 196

Surround yourself with the future. You need half of your relationships to be with those who are half your age. Another Lincolnism. This is much more challenging to do than it would appear at first blush. Unless you have some specific context for being with and seeing people half your age, you might find this much more difficult than you first imagined. I mean where do you think you are going to meet people half your age?? At the grocery store? Perhaps I don’t have enough imagination but the only ways I can think of are through sports or music. Sports through a coaching or a support system, unless you are a very gifted and athletic senior and actually play, is one way. And music is another way, bands, clubs and jam sessions. There are churches, symphonic orchestras, teams and clubs and other places to connect with musicians. But if you aren’t a sports buff and or musical. There has to be more ways, but you see the limited scope of my life here.

Then there is the context. Even if you do play in a band, and I do, then American life is so tightly scheduled that there is practically zero time for even small talk, before everyone is gone and off to their next scheduled event or task. And what do you talk about? Their college classes? Their acne? Their relationships? While these people seem very young to you, you seem far far far more removed from their age to them - you are ancient. I have some people in my life that want grey beards around, but not many. You and I are simply irrelevant to them. Well we aren’t really, but to them in their world and viewpoint, we are.

I think this is a great point and easily the most difficult of the 10 on this list.