There are years that ask questions and years that answer. — Zora Neale Hurston

For Next Time

1. Write in Your Journal

Consider the most influential people in your life. Divide pages into thirds and title each third of a page with a decade; for example, birth to age 10, age 11-20, and so on. Then, in the space for each decade, write about the most influential person in your life at that time.

2. Assemble an Art Toolkit

In a small box or plastic zip bag, assemble a Hindsight, Humor, and Hope toolkit: pen, pencil, eraser, and color pencils or multicolor washable (not permanent) fine-line markers.

Future Workshops

[Date] Workshop 2: Solitude and Connection – The Stuff of Life

[Date] Workshop 3: Diving Through the Layers – The Fabric of My Life

[Date] Workshop 4: Creating New Visions – Building on Experience

[Date] Workshop 5: Making Friends with Mortality

[Date] Workshop 6: Hindsight, Humor, and Hope

Group Rules of Respect

• When a person is speaking we will give that person our respectful attention and only listen.
• After each person speaks, we will observe a moment of silence before another speaks.
• What is shared in the group is only for this group. Personal stories and reflections (other than your own) are not to be shared outside the group.

Definition of an Elder

An Elder is a person who is still growing, still a learner, still with potential and whose life continues to have within it promise for, and connections to the future.

An Elder is still in pursuit of happiness, joy and pleasure, and her or his birthright to these remains intact.

Moreover, an Elder is a person who deserves respect and honor and whose work it is to synthesize wisdom from long life experience and to formulate this into a legacy for future generations.

— Debby and Barry Barkan, Live Oak Institute, Berkeley, CA. This definition is copyrighted and used with permission.

Find Out More

Here are some books for further reading and reflection:

• Andrew, Elizabeth J. Writing the Sacred Journey: The Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir (Skinner House Books, 2005)
• Blanchard, Eliza. The Seasoned Soul: Reflections on Growing Older (Skinner, 2012)
• Montgomery, Kay, ed. Landscapes of Aging and Spirituality: Essays (Skinner, 2015)
• Schachter-Shalomi, Zalman. From Age-ing to Sage-ing: A Profound New Vision of Growing Older (Warner Books, 1995)