Playing the Second Half

Heraldo Sales Cavalcante
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Conversations and stories about life, purpose, transitions, and living the second half well. playingthesecondhalf.substack.com

  1. 4h ago

    AI at 64 - Learning, Creating and Reinventing My Life

    I retired in 2023. I’m now 64, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so productive, learned so much, or enjoyed creating as much as I do today! One of the reasons? Artificial Intelligence. In this very personal reflection, I share how AI has helped me learn new skills, solve problems, and achieve things I never imagined possible. But also my concerns, dilemmas, and some non-negotiables. Can AI help us reinvent ourselves in the second half of life? I’d love to hear your experiences, hopes, and fears! For a deeper exploration of AI, its risks, dilemmas, and the changing nature of work, I invite you to read my latest reflection on 4D Community on Substack. Viva a Vida! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playingthesecondhalf.substack.com

  2. Oct 10

    The Diary

    A travel diary my mother wrote in 1989 changed the way I remember one of the biggest journeys of our lives - and, many years later, changed the way I saw my parents.It starts with something else: small regrets. Those seemingly insignificant moments that somehow stay with us for decades.When I was 27, my parents came from Brazil to visit Annika and me in Sweden. What began as a visit became a journey across Europe - Stockholm, Copenhagen, London, Paris, Lourdes, Madrid, Lisbon, Nazaré, Fátima, Rome and even Åland.At the time, part of me worried about the money, the timing and the inconvenience.Thirty years later, when my mother was very ill, one of my sisters showed me the diary she had kept from that trip.Through her words, I saw it all again.The places. The trains. The food. Pope John Paul II. Gorbachev. My parents crying at the prison traditionally associated with Saint Peter and Saint Paul. And what my mother called The Miracle of Lourdes - a story I had almost forgotten.But perhaps the biggest discovery was much simpler.Looking at an old photograph, I realised that my parents were then about the age I am today.They had always simply been my parents.The diary helped me see them as two people living their own lives.And today I keep it beside my bed.Maybe because when I open it, my parents feel a little less far away.Playing the Second Half is about life, ageing, reinvention, relationships, memory and everything that can still happen in the second half of our lives.Image creditsHummingbird photo: Dulcey Lima / UnsplashWooden boards photo: cottonbro studio / PexelsMemory scenes marked “Reconstruction from Memory” were created as visual reconstructions.Music licensed through Soundstripe.After the fallCode: BUS9NMRTY05XSFEIWondermentCode: 4DA0KV7LZS8CSMYZ We like it hereCode: EC5WOLEGXPNTGMXA Mon AmourCode: T6N7LGSKIKYCQNJW This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playingthesecondhalf.substack.com

    The Diary

  3. Oct 3

    Erik Granström - All is All | Connections, Coincidences and the Patterns of a Life

    What if the child you once were never really disappeared?Erik Granström has spent much of his life creating worlds - as a writer, game designer and storyteller. But his own life has also taken some remarkable and unexpected turns.In this conversation, we explore the theme: All is All - Connections, Coincidences and the Patterns of a Life.We talk about Erik's childhood imagination and the little book he began writing at six years old called All is All, his journey from veterinary medicine to MySQL, fantasy writing and role-playing games, music, illness, relationships, creativity and the strange coincidences that can change the direction of a life.But perhaps the strongest thread running through the conversation is curiosity.Erik talks about still feeling connected to the six-year-old he once was - the child who notices small things, becomes fascinated by the world and keeps asking questions.We also talk about time, ageing, taking leaps of faith, finding meaning in unexpected places and why inspiring another person may ultimately be one of the greatest rewards of creating anything.As Erik says, perhaps we don't simply discover the patterns in our lives. Perhaps we also create them as we try to connect the dots and make sense of the world.This is a conversation about writing, creativity, coincidence, time and curiosity.And very much about Playing the Second Half.Viva a Vida in a nutshell!If something in Erik's story makes you think differently about your own life, I would love to hear it in the comments.Subscribe to Playing the Second Half for more conversations and stories about people continuing to learn, create, change and live fully.Music licensed through Soundstripe.Endless MotionCode: ISR7PSBKUTG4YVDP This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playingthesecondhalf.substack.com

    Erik Granström - All is All | Connections, Coincidences and the Patterns of a Life

  4. Sep 26

    The Taxi

    In Brazil we have a saying: Recordar é viver - to remember is to live.For years, one scene repeated itself in our family: waiting for the taxi that would take my son John David to school.There were routines, music, patience, wonderful drivers, stress, laughter, difficult mornings, small victories - and always the clock.At the time, I often saw those mornings as something I had to get through before the rest of my day could begin. I needed to get John David into the taxi so I could run to work, to the meeting, to everything that seemed so important.Looking back now, I see those mornings differently.The drivers who learned his rituals.The people who helped.The waiting.The noise.The laughter.The love.Those moments were not interruptions to life.They were life.Part of Playing the Second Half - looking back, not to live in the past, but to understand more clearly the life we were already living.Viva a vida!Music licensed through Soundstripe.Bright Morning SunCode: KYX6NIR7NJ7LRCDG This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playingthesecondhalf.substack.com

    The Taxi

  5. Sep 19

    The Nine Meet

    Nine conversations. One summer. And then we met.Over the summer, I had nine conversations with nine very different people. At the end of it, we came together to reflect on what had happened - and on what we had heard in each other’s stories.We talked about loneliness, connection and community. Recovery and healing. What we choose to share — and what we keep private. Authenticity in an age of AI. Time, hope, curiosity and the generosity of telling our stories.For me, those conversations became something more than individual interviews. They became connections between people who, in many cases, had never met.And now, finally, we have.The full individual conversations - and the 18-minute Summer 2026 film with Nala and the grain fields - are all below. You can also find the complete series on the Playing the Second Half YouTube channel.What Lives Between Us - with Pontus Holmgren: Constant Remenbering - with Marie-Louise Larsson From Banking to Self-Awareness - with Tina Tornell Reinventing Myself - with Leonardo Fuks Finding Joy and Peace After Trauma - with Aminah Ådin Where the Lantern Hangs - with Steve Newman Ancora Imparo - with Henning von Beetzen The Adventure of the Spirit - with Ida Helena Rust Crisis. Healing. Leadership - with Andreas Granström Summer 2026 (18 minutes video mentioned) Viva a vida!Music licensed through Soundstripe.Endless MotionCode: UKVAJTSKOHNEOO81 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playingthesecondhalf.substack.com

  6. Sep 12

    What Is Playing the Second Half?

    Playing the Second Half is about lived stories, not recipes for how to live.Through personal reflections, conversations and films, I explore the many second halves we experience in life - the ones we choose and the ones life chooses for us.A place for curiosity, connection, time, change and people trying, in their own way, to live a good life.Viva a vida!Music licensed through Soundstripe.Endless MotionCode: XZJ69AQVUOZYBUR5 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playingthesecondhalf.substack.com

  7. Sep 5

    The Forest

    For ten years, the little forest behind our house was simply there.We threw garden waste over the hawthorn. An old and rather sinister bird trap stood hidden among the trees. Parts of it were overgrown and forgotten.We bought it after a long process.Then we started clearing it.What began as weeks of cleaning, cutting and carrying slowly became something completely different - a place I began to know, care for and spend time in.Along the way there were chainsaws, ravens, a little Nordic mythology, Rachmaninoff - and eventually three hammocks among the trees.This is a story about a small forest. But perhaps also about what happens when we begin to pay attention to something that has been beside us all along.Playing the Second Half.Viva a vida!Music licensed through Soundstripe.Beethoven’s 5th GradeCode: RA0HH0FJZUQXVS4A, Lucky DuckCode: CYIIJQVAHTVFEIWRSergei Rachmaninoff — Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18II. Adagio sostenutoRecording: MusopenSource: Wikimedia CommonsRecording released into the public domain by Musopen.#PlayingTheSecondHalf #TheForest #Nature #LifeAfter60 #SecondHalfOfLife #Sweden #VivaAVida This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playingthesecondhalf.substack.com

  8. Aug 29

    The Photobooth – and the Look in Those Eyes

    There are moments when you can see happiness in someone’s eyes. Moments when you can see sadness. And there are moments when you simply don’t know. This is a story about my daughter Maria, a memory from when she was little, and a day we recently spent together in Malmö. A train journey. A beautiful city. A restaurant she had long wanted to visit. An unexpected first job interview in her new career. And, at the end of the day, a photobooth. A small story about parenthood, what we sometimes fail to see in the people we love, and those wonderful moments when happiness becomes impossible to miss. Playing the Second Half. Viva a vida! PlaytimeMusic licensed through Soundstripe.Code: 4C8QJHXMITQ2HNI7 Lucky DuckMusic licensed through Soundstripe Code: GKNSFUXZM6SFH7OMSunrise Music Licensed through SoundstripeCode: CL2C3VG5DLFNV8HR RadiantMusic Licensed through SoundstripeCode: PXWTOBJWE6Z94K3G This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playingthesecondhalf.substack.com

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About

Conversations and stories about life, purpose, transitions, and living the second half well. playingthesecondhalf.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Heraldo Sales Cavalcante
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    21
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Heraldo Sales Cavalcante
  • Show Website
    Playing the Second Half