Midlife spirituality
When I was a young man,
grown up at last, how large
I seemed to myself! I was a tree,
tall already, and what I had not
yet reached, I would yet grow
to reach. Now, thirty more years
added on, I have reached much
I did not expect, in a direction
unexpected. I am growing downward,
smaller, one among the grasses.
Thirty more years. The selected poems of Wendell Berry, Entries (1997)
History
We have been meeting since August 2007, going public at Richard Rohr’s visit to Edinburgh in June 2007. We invite any who wish to explore, share, learn and reflect on this one particular (peculiar!) stage in human and spiritual development – mid life. We meet on the last Wednesday in the month. See Events for details and booklist for reading materials we have used. Click here for a downloadable information flyer.
Two Halves of Life Group
Ascent and descent: the journey of the soul
This group aims to explore the energies, struggles and spiritualities arising from the transition from the first half to the second half of life. It notes that faith and life take on a strikingly different aspect, the way becomes less clear. 'I don't know where I'm going but neither am I lost' remarked one member of the group. What we believe in and how we pray seems to be disconcertingly unsatisfying and appears to be shifting. Writers speak about the journey which formerly was about ascent - making a mark and way in the world, developing a sense of self or ego - but which then changes into descent - a sense of letting go, of poverty, an integration and of compassion. See 'The two halves of life: how did we get them so mixed up?' What happens in us when such changes occur? Do I misinterpet them, do I resist them? Is a message of ascend, and more ascending, of More and Again of the same actually the journey for the soul?