Creative Aging

by Bankson, Marjory Zoet

• ISBN13: 9781594732812
• ISBN10: 1594732817
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-03-01
• Publisher: Skylight Paths Pub

Summary

Individually and culturally, we are at a crossroads in how we view aging and retirement. The traditional image of a quiet, laid-back retirement is shifting. Many approaching retirement age are realizing they will need to work longer than they had expected. At the same time, many are looking for ways they can offer their gifts and experience in a meaningful way. Marjory Zoet Bankson proposes that, if our older years are to have meaning and purpose, we need to address two key questions: ¿What is my unique gift?¿ and ¿What is my legacy?¿ In Creative Aging, Bankson explores the spiritual dimension of discovering our unique answers and offers creative ways to nourish our calling, particularly where society does not yet have the organizational structures to support these productive energies. Illustrated by stories of people who have reinvented their lives as they age, the book is organized around Bankson¿s cycle of call: ¿ Resist: Feeling lost in a new terrain ¿ Reclaim: Discovering gifts I¿ve put aside or neglected ¿ Revelation: Seeing my piece of a larger picture ¿ Cross-over: Joining inner and outer worlds ¿ Risk: Going public with a new venture. ¿ Relate: Finding or creating structures for flexible participation ¿ Release: Offering service for the common good

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction: Making the Extra Years Count	p. 1
What Now?: Rethinking Aging	p. 7
Release: The Inner Work of Leaving	p. 23
Resistance: Moving Beyond Security	p. 41
Reclaiming: Riches from the Past	p. 55
Revelation: Where Does Newness Come From?	p. 71
Crossing Point: Joining Inner and Outer Worlds	p. 87
Risk: Beginning Again with More Focus	p. 101
Relating: Finding the Right Form for Now	p. 117
Epilogue: Living Wholeheartedly	p. 133
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 137
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