If you find yourself gazing up at the starry night sky more often these days, and contemplating the universe and the meaning of life as you’ve never done before, don’t be surprised. If you find yourself digging more deeply into your existing religious beliefs, or questioning your faith more than you once might have, don’t be alarmed by this, either. And if you’ve never before considered anything remotely along the lines of ‘spiritual,’ try to take it in your stride. One of the fundamentals of ageing, at least for many of us, is a new sense of spiritual curiosity and personal growth.
As children, we accepted the religious, or at least spiritual, beliefs of our parents (if they had any). As teens, we are likely to have tested these out to some degree, and as mature adults, we probably made some sort of personal decision about accepting them or not. However, as we age, and mortality confronts us more directly, we may find, once more, we have questions about the course of spirituality we have pursued throughout our lives.
Having been confronted, over the long course of our life, by tragedy, joy, success, failure, relationship losses and gains, it is no wonder we might begin to question, tweak, embrace, or even abandon, forms of spirituality in ways we might not once have considered possible. In short, the wisdom we have gained through the years, coupled with the loss of friends and family, may have brought us to a point where we are ready to reassess our own place in the world and the life hereafter. For some, this reassessment confirms, even more strongly, their previous beliefs, taking them to a deeper and more intimate level. For others, their search for the meaning of life both now and after death, sets them on a whole new path.
What the path might look like, depends on the individual who is seeking. If you are already involved in a spiritual group, you may want to seek out courses or study that can offer you further insights or opportunities for discussion. The Auckland Buddhist Centre, for example, offers an introduction to meditation and Buddhism, while well-established Christian Courses such as Alpha encourage individuals to consider life in informal but structured settings. Those who are interested in learning about Te Ao Māori, a holistic world view where Maori spirituality and nature converge, might even like to consider working towards a Certificate in Tikanga.
For many of us, however, simply making deeper connections with our forebears is enough to link us to both past and future, and to this end, many choose to research their family tree to find their place in the world of their ancestors, or to reconnect with family members who are distant but still alive today. It may also be that we cement our connection to the world through recording our journey through time in the form of a memoir which makes sense of our own lives, and then leave this record for future generations to access. However we do it, in older age, many of us often find we have a deep yearning for an appreciation of where we are now, but also with what might be beyond this mortal coil.
If you are looking for courses to help address spiritual questions, you may like to connect with organisations such as: Quakers Aotearoa, Earth Diverse.org.nz, or head to a U3A lecture series on religion or philosophy. Perhaps one of the best plans, is to initiate discussions with friends of a similar age who may also be seeking clarification about their spiritual directions. Because the spiritual dimension of our lives is always changing, but never more so than as we age and face our own mortality.
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