Too Old, Too Young

Not only is ashram time wildly different, but ashram age is as well. As far as I know, everyone who works at Shoshoni is at least 18 and is younger than fifty.
Anything more specific than that, don't ask.
Age is a big deal anywhere else. You "keep track" of how your life is going based on age. At 18, you go to college. At 22, you have a nice little freakout about what to do with the rest of your life. At forty, you marry your backup husband if you start getting the urge to buy some cats.

What's strange about the late teen/early twenty years is that you're too young to sit around and be boring, and you're too old to start learning anything new.

Or so says you. And me. So don't feel bad. We can learn this together.

D'awww, it's a bonding moment.

I spoke with a guest at dinner today, and she told me that in fifth grade she convinced herself that she couldn't go on a class ski trip because she was too old to learn how to ski and would look like a fool in front of her experienced peers.

Do you know what I was pro at in fifth grade? Screaming at a keyboard, "I'll never learn how to type on you, NEVER!".

So that's a thing.

Once we've reached a certain age, we believe we should be shameful of beginner status. To say "I don't know" as a child is brave. To say it as an adult will probably make you lose a lot of money.

Apparently at 18, you must know all the things. Perhaps there is some magic mind power in beer. That must explain the freshman craze.

It's especially challenging during the beginning adult stage, because you're still convinced the world is inspecting your every move and that in order to get laid be successful you must be the most impressive being in the world--and that includes knowing how to juggle, balance on your head, and play the guitar on a unicycle.

I actually know someone who can do that last one. Any potential ashram go-ers, you should know that oftentimes you're also signing up to watch a circus.

What we fail to realize, however, is that older adults are continuing to teach themselves things. They've also had twice as long to learn. Serena and Venus didn't pop out throwing tennis balls at each other. There's no shame in being a beginner. If anything, it's admirable to admit that you have more to learn than you do to teach.

Don't get me wrong, working to be an expert in a field is admirable. It's essentially grad school. But sticking to what you know can make the rest of life a bit dull.

Plus, it gives you an excuse to borrow your father's atlatl. Which is what everyone's life goal should be.

Namaste.