Fragments for Friday

 

Source: blessedmart.com

Dear Parish Faithful, The years of our life are threescore and ten, or even by reason of strength fourscore; yet their span is but toil and trouble;  they are soon gone, and we fly away. (Psalm 89/90) I just read an essay entitled, "The Longevity Revolution," by Jonathan Rauch. Actually it is an extended book review of two books: Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Age, by James Chappel; and The Longevity Imperative: How to Build a Healthier and More Productive Society to Support Our Longer Lives, by Andrew Scott. (Rather cumbersome titles!). These books are raising the issue of just how inadequate our current system is for dealing with aging Americans who are living longer and healthier lives. I am not going into those details. If anyone would like a copy of this essay, please let me know, and I will provide one. My interest at the moment is more focused. At the end of this detailed review, Rauch reminds that we have created "the big conceptual categories of childhood, adolescence, middle age, and old age;" and that these categories are "too deeply rooted to toss aside." He then argues: "We could use a new category, one reflecting the fact that longevity is inserting one, two, or even three decades between middle age and old age." And he offered the following new category: "late adulthood," an already existing category associated with prominent sociologists and psychologists working in this field. He summarizes this expertise, by the following description: " ... the notion of late adulthood captures the reality of a new stage of life, in which people are neither fully retired nor conventionally employed - a phase when people can seek new pursuits, take "not so hard" jobs, and give back to their communities, their families, and their God." Well, now it gets interesting, for Rauch will offer his quite positive estimation/description of this "late adulthood." I will let you make your own assessment of "late adulthood," especially for those who are over the age of 50, for Rauch claims that "most of what people think they know about life after 50 is wrong." He then goes on to correct this perceived wrong notion, by saying: "Aging, per se (as distinct from sickness and frailty) is not a process of uniform decline. It brings gains, too: greater equanimity, more emotional resilience ... and a heightened appreciation of life's blessings. Partly for that reason, the late decades of life are, on average, not the saddest, but the happiest. Contrary to popular belief, aging does not bring mental stagnation. Older people can learn and create, although their style of learning and creativity are different than in younger years. Emotional development and maturation continue right through the end of life. And aging can bring wisdom - the ability to rise above self-centered viewpoints, master turbulent emotions, and solve life's problems - a boon not only to the wise but to everyone around them." "Late adulthood ... is a time of reorientation and relaunch, a time when zero-sum goals such as social competition and personal ambition yield to positive-sum pursuits such as building community and nurturing relationships." This is all well and good for those not troubled by "sickness and frailty." Perhaps we are living within the tension between the sober words of the psalmist concerning our life-span's "toil and trouble; they are soon gone and we fly away," and the positive note struck in the above concerning the "gains" of late adulthood.