Finding meaning and Purpose in Later Life

 

Finding Meaning and Purpose in Later Life.

Hello! I'm back! Over seven and a half years since my last post

 

You might think that at this stage in one’s life, as an OAP, senior citizen, elder, geriatric, young at heart, silver surfer, ‘age is just a number’, or however we might describe ourselves, looking for meaning and purpose in life is a bit late. I mean if you haven’t found the answer at 65, 75, or 85, you’re probably not going to. Right?  If you’re lucky and don’t have serious health issues, or even if you do, you just carry on- keep on keeping on.  Correct? To a group of U3A members in Richmond it would appear otherwise.

Finding meaning and purpose in later life through a Jungian perspective was the title of an 8-week U3A course in autumn 2023 attended by 15 members. The course was led by Cathy Campbell, a South African professor in Behavioural Psychology at LSE, recently retired, and training to be a Jungian therapist. I thought it would be a useful refresher of Jung’s work that I studied over 25 years ago on my postgraduate counselling diploma course. It turned out to be much more and set me on a new path of exploration and discovery.

          Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, born in 1875, who founded analytical psychology. He had several ideas about living a meaningful and purposeful life, especially in later life.

Jung believed that the process of individuation, which involves integrating the conscious and unconscious aspects of the psyche, is essential for living a meaningful life. Individuation is a lifelong process that leads to the development of the whole person and the realization of one’s true self. Jung emphasized the importance of delving into the unconscious and integrating the various aspects of the self to achieve a sense of wholeness and fulfilment.

 

Jung introduced the concept of the “shadow,” which represents the hidden or repressed aspects of the self. According to Jung, acknowledging and integrating the shadow is crucial for personal growth and wholeness. Jung believed that finding purpose and meaning in life is essential for psychological well-being. By engaging in introspective practices, such as journaling, meditation, or dream analysis, he believed individuals, especially in later life, can connect with their inner selves and find meaning in their experiences.

Jung proposed the existence of the collective unconscious, a reservoir of shared human experiences and archetypal symbols. Engaging with the collective unconscious through art, mythology, religion, or other cultural expressions can provide individuals, especially in later life, with a sense of connection to something greater than themselves and a deeper understanding of the human experience.

          Cathy Campbell also quotes the thinking of an American Jungian analyst, James Hollis (1943-2023) who has written widely on the subject of finding meaning in later life. To quote him,

          ‘To become a person does not necessarily mean to be well adjusted, well adapted, approved of by others. It means to become who you are. We are meant to become more eccentric, more peculiar, more odd. We are not meant to just fit in.’

What if your belief is that life on earth has no intrinsic meaning? That as Jung says, ‘The point is that there is no point.’  Or your belief is that the sole purpose of life is to prepare you for an afterlife? - heaven, if you’re good -according to your own preferred moral or religious code, or hell if you aren’t. 

What gives your life meaning and purpose? 

For me, meaning comes in different forms. Learning new skills, exploring, discovering ad learning new ideas and different ways of thinking helps me to understand life better, and understanding gives clarity to meaning.

 To be heard, to be truly heard by another being is soul-sharing. The soul for me being the essence of myself, always a work in progress. To offer this listening to others gives me connection and connection for me offers meaning. That is why my work is so important to me as are close family and friendship relationships.

The joys and challenges of nature give my life meaning: the awesomeness of a stunning winter sunset, a rustling breeze on a woodland walk, the sound and sight of waves on a shingly shore or an incoming tide on a long stretch of taupe sand. The belief in the interconnectedness of everything.

What gives me purpose?  In the past, the pursuit of happiness and success gave purpose, until I understood that happiness is transitory and what constitutes success in the modern world is debatable. Now having enough money to have the heating on is an imperative.  To enjoy the taste of delicious food, prepared with love and care by my amazing husband is a beautiful gift; a Cote de Rhone, ruby red and fruity, a holiday in Wales makes life enjoyable.  Dancing, having fun, laughing, making others laugh-a lifelong passion.

Finding purpose used to be fighting the good fight for social justice and change, feminism, peace, climate chaos-campaigning for a better world. In the last decade I’ve become more of an armchair activist. Activism is now channelled into trying to inform and influence my grandsons about the world and how they can make a difference.  Limply supporting the causes I believe in by throwing a few coins into their collection bucket…the pity of an ageing cynic. Vicarious activism.

Cathy’s course started me off with a Jung refresher, and into trying another U3A group, Science and Metaphysics. To say, ‘I’m out of my comfort zone,’ is a massive understatement. It’s more akin to the purgatory of pain and suffering. I blame it on Zoe Roff, who suggested the Jung course in the first place, and now this other one…  where will it all lead, you ask??  Nowhere probably, but isn’t that the point?!

 

Jan Daniel, January 2024. U3A Writing for Pleasure