"What I am calling elderhood, Erikson called "integrity," the eighth and final stage of life, which he described in "Childhood and Society" as "the time when we have come to the point of being able to understand our place in the world and the life we have lived in it." We have reached integrity, he taught, when we can look back at our life, with all its triumphs and sorrows, and accept it as it has come to be. That acceptance is what allows us to serve as elders to others, and to give back to others all that our own life experience has given us.
In his earlier published writings, Erikson did not describe the Integrity Stage in specifically spiritual terms, but as he grew older his thinking may have gravitated in that direction. After his death, his wife Joan Erikson published a book (with Erik as co-author) called "The Life Cycle Completed," in which she described a ninth stage of development called " gerotranscendence." Quoting sociologist Lars Tornstam, who coined the term, she wrote, "Gerotranscendence asserts that spiritual development gradually and steadily increases from middle age onward and results in a shift from a materialistic, role-oriented life philosophy to a transcendent, spiritual perspective in late old age."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lewis-richmond/adulthood-elderhood-buddh_b_891931.html
Lewis Richmond, the author of this book is a Buddhist writer and teacher.
"This is, in a nutshell, the thesis of my upcoming book, "Aging as a Spiritual Practice: A Contemplative Guide to Growing Older and Wiser." I believe that this "transcendent, spiritual perspective" is our natural potential and destiny. Not everyone who grows old becomes wise, for sure. Aging alone is not a sufficient cause for wisdom. Other things, such as a regular religious or contemplative practice, may be required. Though this spiritual perspective may not be everyone's cup of tea, it is the goal of Buddhism and all the other great wisdom traditions. It is also one answer to the question we first may ask in adolescence and often return to again as our life comes to completion: Why are we here? What is our purpose on this earth?
Adulthood, elderhood, buddhahood: From childhood onward, there are these many "hoods" or stages, each one building on the insights and accomplishments of the last. Do we still know how to negotiate them? Someone (I forget who) once commented that these days everyone seems to be about 18 years old. Popular culture and cyberspace notwithstanding, surely this statement is somewhat an exaggeration. But when I think of Harry Roberts and mentors of his ilk -- those who are still scattered everywhere, anonymously for the most part, guiding as best they can -- I wonder if in our haste to re-engineer our lives for material perfection we have lost something vital from the realm of the spirit that has from time immemorial always sustained us."
Adulthood, Elderhood, Buddhahood: The Stages of a Spiritual Life. Worth every moment of reading time, in my opinion.
No comments:
Post a Comment