Reflection #53 Building Bridges
The Gap Year: Reflection #53 Building Bridges
Patricia D. Brown
We shall awaken from our dullness and rise vigorously toward justice. -- Hildegard of Bingen
Erik Ericson, in his classic work Childhood and Society, writes that there are stages in life. Each stage holds challenges. I’ll skip over the first six since some of us, at our age, are more into the last two.
His seventh stage is generativity. It’s the desire to pass what we have contributed onto the next generation. This may be creative works, our wisdom and values, or something practical. We’ll know we’ve reached generativity when we are outwardly altruistic and inwardly feel fulfilled.
The final life stage, the eighth, is ego integrity. With it comes a sense of completeness and self-acceptance. We accept that our life is turning out exactly what it should and is. We leave behind our egos and personal agendas to live and work for the well-being of the world.
I’m working on the seventh. I am eons from reaching the eighth. So, with growing awareness and a more panoramic view of life, I see that we are shifting from living within my own Baby Boomer generation to the next. The baby-boomer population, of which we are a part, is graying. By 2030 61 million U.S. citizens – nearly 20 percent of the population—will be over 65. By 2040 the number could swell beyond 80 million. This means millions of us have a tremendous responsibility in determining the future.
We do not wish to mortgage our grandchildren’s futures for short-term profits. Taking the long view redirects our values away from any current shortsightedness to reclaim the need for a sustainable environment, and a democracy that functions to enable people to live their best lives.
As an older adult, I could become entrapped in the past simply because there is a lot of it. Now I strive to cast off past ways of thinking and perceiving. I want to work as a compassionate advocate for the larger public good, as a world citizen and responsible consumer. So, I question. Can I continue to be a bridge builder to the future? Can I call on my lifetime of experience along with intellectual flexibility to envision and help bring a more just world?
Now it’s your turn.
Take time to reflect and, if in a group, share as you feel able.
As a wiser older adult I wish to:
a) advocate for the larger public good.
b) be a responsible consumer.
c) work for the well-being of the world.
d) be a bridge builder to the future.