How Ritual, Awe, and Community Bring Midlife Back to Life | Christine Sperber
How Ritual, Awe, and Community Bring Midlife Back to Life | Christine Sperber  
Podcast: The Midlife Chrysalis
Published On: Mon Jan 26 2026
Description: In this episode, Chip Conley sits down with Christine Sperber, co-founder of MEA and master experience designer, to explore how awe, ritual, and community can bring us back to life in midlife. Drawing from ski town culture, life in Baja, and years of building transformational experiences, Christine offers a hopeful reframe of aging as something to design, not fix.In this conversation, Chip and Christine explore:Why purpose matters more than productivity in midlifeHow simple rituals create meaning, resilience, and belongingWhat nature, movement, and community teach us about vitalityWhy transitions like perimenopause and loss call for compassion, not hustleIf midlife feels like a pause, a question mark, or an invitation to something more, this episode will leave you feeling seen, grounded, and hopeful.Listen now and rediscover what it means to feel fully alive in midlife. Timestamps:03:22 Christine Sperber’s background06:55 Leaving Colorado for Baja08:49 First experience of Baja and Pescadero10:59 Freedom and living in rhythm with nature15:15 Experience design and creating meaningful gatherings17:48 Baking bread as ritual and collective practice22:14 Origin story of MEA24:02 Early doubts and building a local economy26:07 Lessons from the first MEA beta cohorts30:38 Ski towns, purpose, and longevity research33:46 Aging, vitality, and midlife perspective40:49 Introversion, ritual, and reclaiming time46:19 Third vault conversations and authentic community48:26 Moral beauty as a pathway to awe54:11 Transformation through deep connection56:19 Designing belonging and social bonds57:28 Wisdom bumper stickerLearn more about MEA at ⁠https://www.meawisdom.com/