Read the book. From Age-ing to Sage-ing™ - A
Profound New Vision of Growing Older, by Zalman
Schacter-Shalomi and Ronald Miller. Whether
you are a retired person, someone in midlife or a younger
person with an older loved one, the authors show you how
to turn "age-ing" into "sage-ing," a
process that brings more adventure, passion, mystery and
meaning into your life.
A word from the founder
of the Spiritual Eldering Institute® - Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi:
For our generation,
aging is a new territory. The tribal and traditional ways which
supported our ancestors do not always fit for those of us who live and
work in this modern time.
It looked to me that I
would get to live longer than my grandparents and even longer than my
parents. Would the extended life span be a blessing for
me? Or, would it become a curse, a drawn out medically managed
dying? What does one do with all of the extra years?
I felt that in the
ideal of the good life - the life that I strive for - there must be a
good aging. Who lived it? Who described it? For all
the other ages of my life I had models, codes of behavior, scripts.
I began to pay
attention to my inner work, my contemplations, journaling, engaging in
a review of my life and I began to feel lighter. My
introspective work and research expanded my horizon of growing
older. I began to see and feel myself becoming an elder.
We must all pass
through a gate of transformation to move from age-ing to
sage-ing. This enables us to use our life experience to enrich
our elder years, face mortality, repair relationships, develop a
re-generative spirit and transmit wisdom to future generations.
This process not only seeds the future, but crowns an Elder's life
with worth and nobility.
As you embrace the
future filled with exciting new opportunities for personal growth, you
will become a sage, an active and responsible elder whose efforts help
heal the family, the community and planet Earth. No matter what
your age, From Age-ing to Sage-ing can help prepare you for this
important role of Wisdomkeeper and guide - the crowning achievement of
a lifetime and possibly the most rewarding work you will ever do.
