We are gradually coming to see that the years beyond sixty
five or seventy,
the years of our second maturity,
may be evolution's greatest gift to humanity.
Jean Houston
Reading an article by Jean Houston,
"The Genius of Second Maturity," this week birthdays have been on my
mind. It is not my birthday, but many dear friends are celebrating: one
turning 70, and another turning 60. I am going to a party so I got a very funny
card with a young woman with BIG hair. You may remember that look.
Carl Jung is said to have reflected
that his life would only have meaning in terms of centuries. Houston wrote:
"One of the greatest capacities of second maturity is the capacity for
spiritual development. Having known the breadth of existence, we now have the
capacity for knowing the subtleties of the depths as well in ways that few
could have known them before. No longer needing to compete, to be acceptable,
likeable, and all those other things considered respectable in society, people
are finally being uncaged in their elder years, free to release energies and
capacities that the culture restrained in them when they were younger."
This sense of no longer needing to
be acceptable, likable, or respectable came to me in spades last Saturday
morning as I was driving to join Betty Lue Lieber and Robert Waldon for a day
workshop while they were in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This is a group that is
generally very high conscious when it comes to food, and the workshop included
a potluck lunch. The dish I had brought to contribute was peanut butter pie. Not exactly a health food, but delicious!
I arrived at the choice to bring the pie based on some tricky logistics of having just gotten
home from a road trip to San Antonio, Texas, and having taught all day (13
fifteen-minute presentations on stress relief at Three Rivers Hospital) the day
prior, and staying the night in Kalamazoo.
I am guessing the conversation I had
in my head about the pie was influenced by an experiential learning with Karen
Drucker while in San Antonio: Taming Your Inner Critic. It went something like
this, "If no one chooses to eat the pie, I am fine with that. Another
person's choice is not a reflection on me, it is simply his or her freedom to
choose."
It was really quite wonderful to
have this exchange within myself and to be totally in awe at the ease I was
feeling about however things played out. I laugh even now realizing that Betty
Lue opened with a talk about the need to honor that our path does not have to
be anyone else's, it just has to be genuinely ours! I was moved to share about
the peanut butter pie, and that became a symbol for all of us of the ease of
respecting personal choices in our lives.
On a much deeper level, though, what
Houston calls second maturity, really
is gift. It is about inner transformation.
From the poem, Minnie Remembers, by
Donna Swanson:
I remember Hank and the babies.
How else can I remember them
but together?
For out of the fumbling, awkward
attempts of new lovers
came the babies.
And, as they grew, so did our love.
And, God, Hank didn't seem to mind
if my
body thickened and faded
a little.
He still loved it and touched it.
How else can I remember them
but together?
For out of the fumbling, awkward
attempts of new lovers
came the babies.
And, as they grew, so did our love.
And, God, Hank didn't seem to mind
if my
body thickened and faded
a little.
He still loved it and touched it.
Every piece of that peanut butter pie was enjoyed. Sometimes as the outer fades, our
inner beauty shines more brightly.Thank God for that truth!
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1. You are over the age of 60.
2. You have always felt a "stirring" within your soul to heal and bless humanity.
3. That "stirring" has increased considerably over the last five to ten years.
4. You feel a tangible connection with the Indigo Children.
5. You can't keep silent any longer, but feel drawn to share your wisdom.
6. You refuse to sit back and simply "retire."
7. You felt a resolute "YES" when you first read or heard about the Golden Indigos.
