"Revisioning Later Life..."

A View to the Future

"The years beyond midlife have the potential for being the most productive and satisfying period in our lives.  Although these years hold many challenges---including health concerns and physical aging---perhaps the most important challenge we face is finding meaning in our lives.  We have many choices:  we can focus on loss, disappointment and perhaps depression or, alternatively, transform this period into a time of profound psychological and spiritual growth.

This transformation requires a rebirth---a new way to live and be in the world.  We need to reassess and prioritize our interests, our passions and ways to pursue meaningful and intimate relationships.  For C.G.Jung, "aging is not a process of inexorable decline, but a time for the progressive refinement of what is essential."

Recent research has shown that the human brain can remain active, creative, and highly functional during our later years.  Too often we forget that mental and spiritual health is less a matter of fate than a matter of choice.  We can either shrink from life or enlarge it by engaging the passions of our soul, mining the richness of our true Self, and living the life we are truly meant to live."

(from the N.Y. Center for Jungian Studies)

Have you figured out how to age positively?  Do you know an elder who is living well?  A role model?  Let us know.