I hope @dinosaurs-and-lavender doesn’t mind my piggybacking off this awesome post.
This line from Jim in 107 I feel builds on the idea of second chances:
“Old tree still had some fruit to give after all.”
That could be the thesis of the show. Life isn’t done because you’re over 30 or 40, or 50 and beyond. I think it’s why this show resonated so hard with Gen X, perhaps in a different way to younger people. It told us we weren’t done just because youth was.
And for younger people, take heart. You don’t need it all figured out in your 20s. Life is an adventure and who knows what you might dig up. You don’t ever need to figure life out because it isn’t a problem to be solved. It’s messy and wonderful, and even when you’re an old, old tree, you will still have plenty of fruit to give.
I love this @crimson-and-clover-1717 ❤️. Absolutely, it meant so much to me because Stede and Ed were around my age (I'm older but not by that much). To have the courage to change after all that time; to look for something new at that stage in life; to only start to figure yourself out at 50. It was such an important message, particularly because it's both not that unusual (because of the times our generation grew up in), and also because it's not something I've seen much on screen. "Finding yourself" stories have tended to be written for younger people.
"It told us we weren't done just because youth was".
What a perfect summary. I thought of it as "It's never too late to try", so I tried and my life is better because of it.
It reminded me of "carpe diem". Sieze the day. Robin Williams said it to teenagers but to me it hits much harder in middle age, because there is so much less time left to sieze.
omg it seems your words changed something in me.I can't formulate it exactly, but as a person approaching his 20s and desperately trying to deal with his life, emotions, etc., for some reason thinking that if I don't do this in the near future, I will definitely mess up my life, it was very important for me to read this
@tinka-nn I can't speak for everyone, but as someone nearer to 60 than 50, I can say that you will have many chances to change course, to go back to things you had previously discarded, to learn and keep learning about yourself. As I said in my original post, Our Flag Means Death gave me new learning, new insight. And Stede Bonnet in particular inspired me to make changes, to make new friends, and improve my life. If I can still learn and make changes at my age, you in your 20s have so much more opportunity in front of you. Good luck! 🩵
