Joanna Gaines’ husband Chip Gaines has a new era of life ahead of him, and he is reflecting on the upcoming change.
Come next month, on November 14, the former HGTV star will celebrate his milestone 50th birthday.
He and his wife, who herself is still about four years away from the fifth floor, have been married since 2003, and share five children: Drake, 19, who recently started his sophomore year of college at Baylor University, Ella Rose, 17, Duke, who just celebrated his 16th birthday, Emmie Kay, 14, and Crew, six.
In honor of the upcoming milestone, Chip penned a thoughtful essay for the Fall 2024 issue of Magnolia Journal, and reflected on wisdom, his ambitions as a kid of becoming a wise old man, and the lessons he has learned.
“Wisdom — where to find it, how to hold onto it, who to give it to — has been a pursuit of mine since I was a kid,” he first explained, adding that “like the folks you see at the park or the beach with their metal detectors sweeping the sand,” when he was young, he was “out there with my sensor, scanning my little corner of the world for examples of people I thought might hold the great secrets of the universe, people who I thought carried the wisdom that could get me to where I wanted to go.”
He noted: “I’d gotten it into my head that only a select few could hold such treasure, and I sought out the ones who looked like they might. What I’d call the “wise old folks” of our community. The kind of people others told me I’d be wise to follow. And if the timing was right, when I’d spot one of them, I wouldn’t waste a second to step up, ask what I could, and pray they’d humor me.”
© InstagramNow at “about the same age as those ‘wise old folks’ I used to follow around,” he is reflecting on his journey to wisdom and turning 50. “That’s half a century that I’ve occupied a place on this Earth,” he noted, recalling: “I started working so hard, and so fast, at such a young age — always racing some invisible clock — I sort of figured that by 50 I could have lived a thousand lives. Surely, five decades would be enough time to collect all the wisdom of the world, all those secrets I’d wanted to search for. Surely, I figured, by age 50 I’d be a ‘wise old man’ myself.”
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And with that, he’s sharing some of his wisdoms. “It isn’t gained by following the few, but rather, by tuning in to the collective. To say it another way, wisdom isn’t earned when we’re attuned to the ‘right’ people,” he said, emphasizing: “It’s earned when we’re attuned to people — period.”
© Getty“You could choose to frame your perspective based on sameness, but I can tell you that well dries up quick, and what you’re left with is nothing more than an echo chamber. But open yourself up to making connections en masse and what you gain is a compilation of experiences — dynamic enough to glean wisdom you didn’t even know to look for,” he further reflected.
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© InstagramChip went on: “This, I think, is the secret door to real wisdom. Rather than operating as followers, we can be more like pollinators, picking up ideas from one spot and carrying them to another.”
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© Getty“So that rather than going through life skimming for the ‘right’ people to share our time with, we see the merit of what snowballs. When we let more people in, we’re all better for it.”
His “bottom line,” he said is: “If you’re interested in wisdom, you’ve got to be interested in genuine connection, the kind that has no direction in mind other than closer. That’s it. That’s my big advice. Be curious. Engage with people you know and people you don’t. Listen, and then listen closer. Tune in to people— period. I believe we’ve all got something to offer one another. If you believe that too, then let’s live in such a way that proves us both wise.”
