Quote of the Day: Golda Meir on Aging & Wisdom

Your phone keeps refreshing the scoreboard: who’s winning, who’s aging “better,” who’s doing more with less sleep. The pace is fast, the comparisons are endless, and the noise trains us to believe we can control everything if we just optimize hard enough. Then life delivers a phase that refuses to be optimized. “Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you're aboard, there's nothing you can do.”

Golda Meir isn’t asking for despair, she’s pointing out a strategic shift. When turbulence hits at 30,000 feet, the worst move is to sprint down the aisle pretending you can fix the weather. The best move is to do what good travelers do: buckle in, breathe, and focus on what still belongs to you, your attention, your choices in the moment, your attitude toward discomfort.

Old age carries real storms: health surprises, narrower options, losses that arrive without asking permission. But the quote contains a quiet invitation to agency. You may not control the storm, but you can control your preparation before takeoff and your composure during it. That means building routines that protect your strength, telling the truth sooner, and investing in relationships while you can. It also means practicing resilience now, so it’s familiar later.

Meir earned this clarity the hard way: from early Zionist activism and diplomatic nation-building to serving as Israel’s prime minister during high-stakes crises, she learned that calm leadership is often the only tool available when conditions won’t cooperate. Her leadership was forged in seasons where “doing something” was less important than doing the right thing.

On July 16, the world remembers the launch of Apollo 11, a reminder that bold journeys include long stretches of uncertainty and trust. Today, choose one “pre-flight” action: schedule the checkup, write the will, make the strength-training plan, or call the person you keep postponing. Then sit with whatever weather you’re in, steady, strapped in, and quietly brave.