Eternally Hip

07/01/2026

Like & Subscribe to the new Eternally Hip YouTube channel !!
The channel will highlight lessons about virtues, character-building, and excerpts from the forthcoming book.

Part memoir, part message, Eternally Hip is a fresh and soulful look at growing up, finding meaning, and staying true to what really matters. Eternally Hip is a mindset—about living with purpose, owning your story, and growing into the best version of yourself. Available Spring 2026.

Part memoir, part message, Eternally Hip is a fresh and soulful look at growing up, finding meaning, and staying true to what really matters. Eternally Hip i...

03/01/2026

25/10/2024

BLOG: Birthday #63 (But it feels like I’m only 8)
Read Time: 3 minutes

“Today is the oldest you’ve ever been, and the youngest you’ll ever be again.” —Eleanor Roosevelt

Gosh, another trip around the sun, and that’s a great thing! But how could there have been so many when I still feel like I’m just 8 years old?

Each birthday feels a little like a checkpoint, doesn’t it? Another chance to look back and acknowledge an amazing year filled with decisions and doubts, personal victories, and a few failures too.
I even had a couple of trips to the ER that didn’t amount to anything serious—other than a seriously ridiculous bill! And my heart was broken, but I think I broke a heart too, so “touché, Mr. Jeff.”

I’m not going to deny that I’m not a young dude anymore, but I don’t feel as old as I am. I’m not a stereotypical grouchy old guy, and I hope to never be. (Okay—so I need a little more coffee these days, I enjoy napping, and I’ve got more aches and pains than I used to. I’ll admit, the cast-iron six-pack abdomen I sported eons ago has morphed into a single pizza pan.)

I’m not as strong or fast as I used to be, nor am I as physically adventurous, primarily because I just want to stay alive. Now, I get my shot of adrenaline from other things. I still work hard and give my best to whatever tasks the day may bring.

Growing older is a bit challenging, so if you’re young and reading this, don’t feel rushed to grow up. I’m just sayin’.

Here are a few quotes worth pondering:

“Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.”
— Stanislaw Jerzy Lec (20th century Polish poet)

“Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person that you always should have been.”
— David Bowie (influential 20th-century musician)

Or in the words of the inimitable George Burns, who was an active entertainer throughout his life until he passed away just after celebrating his hundredth birthday: “You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old.”

That’s me, folks. I don’t want to get old. Ever.

Some time ago, I began to realize how much I missed the younger version of me… where had I gone? I remembered the ‘joie de vivre’ of that younger man and wanted to hang around with him again. Even more so, I wanted to spend time with my 8-year-old self.

THE INDIA STORY
Teaching in India and Nepal in 2022-23 brought me pretty close to that. I actually worked with all grades, from PreK to 12th. But it was the seven months of assisting with preschool kids in India that produced the biggest shakedown.

When I was applying to volunteer at a residential school many months before I traveled there, I indicated I’d do best with the upper elementary kids and above, and I did get to work with them in the afternoons. However, I hadn’t checked off the PreK or KG boxes on the list, so when the school asked me to consider that assignment, I was thrown off guard.

“Sir, we’re working with children coming from the lowest caste of society,” the academic coordinator informed me. “These children come from very difficult backgrounds and extreme poverty. Their first year here is pivotal and probably the most important as they adjust to a completely different environment—one that cares for and nurtures them.

“It’s a very complicated transition. We have plenty of excellent women to teach and care for them, but there is no male influence. It would be very beneficial to have the influence of a kind, older gentleman.”

It was a call to bring kindness where it was needed most. At least I had to try.

So, there I was with no prior PreK experience—three hours EVERY morning for seven months with 25 four-year-olds. Yep, you read that correctly.

Then came the incredible experiences at two other schools in Nepal, where I again got to contribute to all grades. But those preschoolers in India really did something profound to me. I could have stayed with them indefinitely, following them right through to graduation and watching them go to college. I was willing to commit to being a dependable, ever-present mentor.

That year of working with the students in every school, the other teachers, and the support staff were some of the most transformative of my life.

Back to my birthday.

LESSONS ON YOUTH
A recent podcast reminded me that we are all former children. Even as 8-year-olds, we are keenly aware of what’s happening around us. We’re wide-eyed with curiosity, alert to the myriad of wonders and dangers in the world, and open to possibilities.

That’s one reason I’ve decided to return to South Asia. The best birthday present I can imagine is coming to fruition. And thanks to a bunch of 4-year-olds in India that started it all, in a month I’ll be heading back to Nepal to teach kids for a full year, and maybe beyond.

Like I said, I don’t want to get old. Ever.

And what about you? When was the last time you let your 8-year-old come out and play? We’d all do well to have our younger, inquisitive, playful selves accompany us more often. I’m happy to report that my inner child is still ageless. How is yours doing???

So, happy birthday to me! And to you too—whether it’s belated or in advance!

03/12/2023

I met many wonderful young students & teachers in Nepal & India this past year. One of my favorites is Sadikshya Regmi a remarkable 9th grader at the Bramha Kunja school in Kathmandu. I had the privilege of giving her one-on-one coaching in public speaking on several occasions and saw her great potential. She recently received 2nd place honors in a debate competition held for all private and gov’t schools of her municipality. I’m honored to have worked with her for a short time, and excited to see her fulfill her dreams as an accomplished student and a compassionate human being.👏🏼✨💜🏆💜✨👏🏼

04/11/2023

Bridges of Compassion was a parachurch ministry that served in the border city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico from 2011 to 2021.

Founder Jeff Harvey, a bi-vocational missionary, spent two years in the field full time (and 8 years part time), working closely with local churches, serving underprivileged families, displaced immigrants, orphanages, missions, and a home for disabled children.

Together with his team, the ministry received, stored, and transported across the border significant donations of food, medical supplies, clothing, appliances and other resources, dispersing them around Piedras Negras and outlying villages.

Jeff also served as general contractor for the construction of numerous homes for underprivileged families in Piedras Negras. The projects were financed by churches and businesses in the US, and local laborers were employed for the construction.

Bridges of Compassion was a parachurch ministry that served in the border city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico from 2011 to 2021.Founder Jeff Harvey, a b...

03/09/2023

BLOG: Another Change in Attitude and Latitude
(Reading time 2.5 mins)

Yesterday, the world lost a wonderfully laid-back musician who for decades helped to keep us in a tropically light and breezy state of mind. Jimmy Buffett is now enjoying infinite margaritas and cheeseburgers in paradise, where it’s 5 o’clock indefinitely. I hope there’s an empty stool next to him at the counter when I get there.

Not so newsworthy is my last full day in Nepal, as tomorrow I fly more than halfway across the globe to Washington, DC. I’m planning to visit longtime friends there and in Pennsylvania, and perhaps I’ll drop in on a few others on my way back to Texas, where I’ll likely remain until I can finance my way back here asap in 2024.

It’s been exactly one full year of teaching at three different schools, from South India to Kathmandu. To say it’s been an extraordinary experience is nothing short of an understatement. It’s as if my whole life was just a prelude to this past year.

As I prepared to leave last year, ridding myself of almost all my possessions and packing what was left into a few suitcases, I was already sensing that my foray into humanitarian service in a foreign country was not going to be a ‘one-shot and done’ deal.

Since coming, I’ve truly learned to appreciate no-frills, basic living, where you eat to live and not live to eat. People are unequivocally more important than the pursuit of convenience and acquisitions, and the relentless chase of happiness hormones.

Now etched into my heart and memory are glimmering faces of hundreds of children, young people and adults alike, who have moved my spirit so much that I’ll never look at ‘creature comfort’ the same way again.

Yes I know, not everyone can do what I did. For me, it was the result of painful circumstances that elicited much needed change, which in turn caused a serendipitous door of opportunity to open.

It’s absolutely true that we can learn more from failures than we do from successes. Failure often produces much more fruit, and In my case it’s been an orchard’s harvest.

What I have become keenly aware of is how critical our relationships with children and young people are, more so now as they grow into a world that has already been stripped away and stolen from them. In our blissful moments of learning and laughter in the classroom, I cringe about what’s in store for them in a short matter of time.

Finding a way to squeeze global virtues and rules for great living into geography or English class seemed equally, if not more important, than the academic subject of the hour. Hopefully they’ll remember a hint of our conversations when school days become a thing of their past.

Enough already, it’s almost 5 o’clock. Let’s keep Happy Hour going as long as possible. See you on the other side of the pond.

23/07/2023

I heard this first on the Netflix documentary Daughters of Destiny, about the Shanti Bhavan Children's Project in India where I served for 8 months. Made this poster for a school in Nepal…

15/07/2023

“Compassion”
Music written & produced by Jeff Harvey
Orchestral strings: Joylin
16-12-22

This piece is my response to the merciless invasion and ongoing war in Ukraine. I wanted to do something artistically to bring attention to the tremendous needs of millions of Ukrainian citizens that were torn away from their homes forced to flee from their country.

All the artists involved with this video donated their time and energies for the benefit of the International Rescue Committee. The IRC was founded in 1933 at the call of physicist, humanitarian, and himself a refugee, Albert Einstein.

To this date, the IRC is on the ground in Poland, serving millions of displaced refugees, and continues similar work around the globe.

Video project produced by:
Jeff Harvey (San Antonio, TX)
Greg Weiss (Homewood, IL)
Subhashini K (Hosur, Tamil Nadu, India)

Edited by: Subhashini K, Jeff Harvey

Artists and countries represented, in order of appearance:
INDIA: Laasya Khandavalli, Priya Raja
ARGENTINA: Belén Frau
GEORGIA: Guga Hoofer
USA: Mary Sofianos
ROMANIA: Joylin
CAMEROON: Joel Ando Wanneh

“Compassion” © 2022 The LMFWritten & produced by Jeff HarveyOrchestral strings: JoylinFrom the 2022 Lost Museum album "Transcendence"(Available on all stream...