Dear Friends -
Before we dive in, a quick note. I’m going to take next week off for Christmas, rest, and some intentional dreaming and planning for 2026. I’ll be back on December 31 with my Act Three 2026 Trends Report, where I’ll share what I see coming next and why this next chapter of life is going to matter more than ever.
This week, I want to talk about Ripple, a Netflix series I just finished and haven’t been able to shake.
On the surface, Ripple follows four strangers in New York City whose lives intersect through seemingly small, ordinary moments. A widower navigating life after loss. A man facing a life-altering diagnosis. A musician searching for meaning. A former record executive trying to make sense of her past. But the heart of the show isn’t really about what happens. It’s about what those moments set in motion.
What struck me most is how the show treats grief, love, and connection with such honesty. Loss is not something to “get over.” It’s something you learn to carry. And love, even when we know it will hurt, is still worth choosing.
There’s a line from the show that absolutely stopped me in my tracks:
“When you choose to love, you always lose. We all know the risks and yet we do it anyway.”
That sentiment feels especially powerful in Act Three. As we get older, we’ve lived long enough to know how real loss is. We’ve lost parents, friends, roles, identities, seasons of life. We’re no longer naïve about love or work or the way life unfolds. And yet, the invitation remains the same: stay open. Stay connected. Choose anyway.
Ripple is also quietly philosophical. It asks the big questions without shouting them. Why are we here? What makes a life meaningful? Do our small choices matter? The show’s answer seems to be yes, absolutely. A conversation. A decision to show up. A moment of courage. These are the things that ripple outward, shaping lives far beyond our own.
In Act Three, these questions tend to surface more clearly. When the noise of building, striving, and proving quiets down, what’s left is meaning. Belonging. Contribution. Love. Planning your next chapter isn’t just about how you’ll spend your time. It’s about who you’ll be connected to and how you’ll live from the heart.
Watching Ripple during the holidays made me especially tender. This season has a way of reminding us who’s missing, who we wish we could call, and how deeply interconnected we really are. It also reminds us that endings and beginnings often coexist. One of the characters says something simple but profound: maybe the journey is only just beginning.
As we head into 2026, with AI accelerating and the world starting to feel very different very fast, this feels like an important reminder. Technology may change how we work and live, but it cannot replace our humanity. Our capacity to love, grieve, hope, and connect is still the point.
So as you move through the holidays, I hope you keep your eyes open for the ripples. The small moments of connection. The conversations that linger. The people who cross your path for reasons you may not fully understand yet.
Wishing you a very happy holiday season. May you feel deeply connected in this magical time, and may those connections carry you forward into your next chapter.
With warmth,
Cara Gray
Third Act Consultant, CPRC, CEPA
P.S. If you want to start planning your third act, set up a time on my calendar for a chat: Schedule a Chat with Cara