Creative Aging
Rethinking Retirement and Non-Retirement in a Changing World
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£19.99
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Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing
ISBN: 9781683360186
Number of Pages: 160
Published: 18/03/2010
Width: 15.2 cm
Height: 22.9 cm
Discover Your Unique Gift
"Creative aging is a choice…. If we remember that transition always begins with endings, moves on to a wilderness period of testing and trying, and only then do we reach the beginning of something new, then we can embrace this encore period of life with hope and curiosity, remembering always that it is our true nature to be creative, to be always birthing new ways of sharing our planet together."
—from the Epilogue
In a practical and useful way, Marjory Zoet Bankson explores the spiritual dimensions of retirement and aging. She offers creative ways for you to share your gifts and experience, particularly when retirement leaves you questioning who you are when you are no longer defined by your career.
Drawing on stories of people who have reinvented their lives in their older years, Bankson explores the issues you need to address as you move into this generative period of life:
Release: Letting go of the vocational identity associated with your career or primary work
Resistance: Feeling stuck, stagnant, resisting change
Reclaiming: Drawing energy from the past, discovering unused gifts
Revelation: Forming a new vision of the future
Crossing Point: Moving from stagnation to generativity
Risk: Stepping out into the world with new hope
Relating: Finding or creating new structures for a new kind of work
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: Making the Extra Years Count 1
1.WHAT NOW?
Rethinking Aging 7
2. RELEASE
The Inner Work of Leaving 23
3. RESISTANCE
Moving Beyond Security 41
4. RECLAIMING
Riches from the Past 55
5. REVELATION
Where Does Newness Come From? 71
6. CROSSING POINT
Joining Inner and Outer Worlds 87
7. RISK
Beginning Again with More Focus 101
8. RELATING
Finding the Right Form for Now 117
Epilogue: Living Wholeheartedly 133
Suggestions for Further Reading 137
Drawing on stories of real-life people, this practical, useful book develops the spiritual dimensions of aging in a way that makes what the author calls "the generative years" count. Bankson develops her book around seven themes. She begins with "Release": letting go of vocational identity; and continues with "Resistance": resisting change; "Reclaiming": drawing energy from the past; "Revelation": forming a new vision for the future; "Crossing Point": moving from stagnation to generatively; "Risk": stepping out with new hope; and "Relating": creating or finding new structures for a new kind of work. The book is a valuable tool for those beginning to think of retirement, forced into retirement by the present economy, as the situation forces the reader to look at how s(he) looks at her(himself) as a person or as a worker. Each chapter is followed by a reflection on the spiritual dimension and questions to ponder related to the topic. The epilogue, "Living Wholeheartedly," focuses on the attitude necessary to age creatively, being grateful for the gift of this extra time to receive the grace that surrounds us every day. In simple language the author presents considerations that will give the reader a choice between growing old and creative aging as s(he) reworks her/his identity associated with a career, making peace with what has or has not been accomplished to discovering who s(he) is now and enjoying the freedom. She calls readers to remember that "we are human beings not human doings." This valuable book is strongly recommended for anyone facing the reality of retirement. Ann Lynch, SSJ -- Ann Lynch * Catholic Library World *