The inner lives of seniors

You don’t need me to tell you: aging is a challenge. Most of us have our work cut out for us, trying to stay fit and maintain a healthy diet, dealing with loss of strength and energy, chronic disorders, pain, memory loss, new changes to adjust to all the time. And then, every so often, memories, images and thoughts bubble up, some with strong, uncomfortable feelings in tow: unfinished business.

Not many of us have the skills, tools and insights for dealing with unfinished business. But I’ve come across an extraordinary book to help us along the journey. Written by Dr Connie Zweig, a Jungian-oriented psychotherapist, The Inner Work of Age explores the unconscious inner obstacles that block our capacity to fulfill the extraordinary possibilities of late life, and offers the tools – shadow work, spiritual practices from many traditions – to overcome those obstacles. She presents a broad range of ideas, interviews and practices pointing to the inner work that we need to undertake for ourselves, our families and our communities. Zweig advocates for a combination of inner work and social justice work to resolve critical issues of our time as well, including global population aging, family caregiving, service and legacy, the cancer epidemic, climate change and political activism. She calls upon us to renew ourselves emotionally and spiritually, to live fully as elders filled with vitality and purpose.

The path is not quick or easy. This is not a how-to book dashed off by some get-rich-quickster. It takes courage, honesty and sustained effort. For those of us who have not spent much time exploring our emotional or spiritual sides, it may feel strange at first. But what a gift awaits us: freeing ourselves of lifelong obstacles, and finally developing into our authentic selves, by doing the inner work of old age.