Coracle Trust E-Reflections

Growing down

Tuesday 30 November 2010

Not even for a moment do things stand still – witness colour in the trees Seiju, 1776 aged 75

Growing down

Let the eloquent James Hillman continue…

The contrast between youth and age shows clearly in the shift from ascending to declining. The biology of younger times is a biology of literally “growing up"...In later years, the pull of gravity takes over. Ambitious, upworldy mobile social climbing, career and class, no longer offer glamour. You no longer need to be among the beautiful people...Instead the Great Sag: eye pouches, double chins, droopy belly and all...[This] downward pull makes us anxious.

Reduced to honesty and freedom

And yet...

The old hear into the gaps, smell what is not kosher, watch for small smiles that disguise the truth – all the necessary suppressions that make every day possible, and nice. When the body begins to sag, it is abandoning sham and hypocrisy. The body leads the way down, deepening your character. It doesn’t know how to lie.

These are challenging points about phoney posturing and ridiculous preening. There is also relief, as echoed in Jenny Joseph's poem Warning. I suspect wariness and sobriety are not our preferred goals. How about artlessness and not taking ourselves too seriously? Joseph asks if we might like to practice a little now.