Christ’s Easter story of trial, death, resurrection and all that takes place around this – the deception and deceit, betrayal and the coming of a new Age for Christianity can be a lesson for us all.
I do think it is particularly pertinent to people when they are mature though.
Maturity and advancing years tends to bring wisdom and a different perspective on life. The battles and struggles of bringing up a family, earning enough to feed them and working towards a “bigger, better life” (whatever that may mean for each person) fade. You have what you have.
Life is seen through new prisms and new paradigms.
What becomes a struggle now is:
- Letting go of the old belief systems which no longer serve you
- Preparing for dying and death
- Being OK for what is to come, without fear
- Managing pain or fatigue and disability
All of these things are so apparent in Christ’s story and other parts in the Bible – and they can bring us great teaching and inspiration, if you are willing to really LOOK and examine the message behind the stories.
In our society (Western) we are unbelievably DEATH PHOBIC – but it never used to be this way! It altered largely around the Victorian era.
Easter as a result has become sanitised – with images of eggs and bunnies and daffodils and cake! The phobia and taboos around the end of life are getting strengthened – and the result is that the lessons and peace that can happen at this time of life are not reached. Mentally – this makes us less stable and also increases the fear for our families. It is, in short – a poor legacy to leave.
The unwillingness to engage causes us to be frightened to properly deal with our own mortality. I have heard from some that they have a superstition that even thinking about dying – will bring it closer! This is NOT true!
This death phobia means that we fear not only the whole dying process, as though it was unnatural (and some even deny that we will die); but also to try to delay and prolong it – as though there was somewhere else to get to.
Modern medicine is clearly brilliant at prolonging life – in many instances. This is sometimes good, but in the longer term – means that we often do not manage being mortal in a powerful way and the whole end of life period in frankly a victim mode and it can be a much more horrible end.
It is understandable, but the fear removes the opportunities which it can represent.
- One of those opportunities is getting complete with your family.
- Saying what you need to say to them.
- Asking for forgiveness or
- celebrating your and their successes.
So this Easter – take any family time that you have to create openings for conversations with ALL generations. They could be about your fears and hopes for the future – or theirs. Start working towards to creating the future that you WANT.
It is interesting that one of the traditional symbols of Easter are eggs – representing new life and a future to look forward to. Great Guidelines for Later Life is very much about creating a new future to live into, free from the burdens that may be in the past – but it takes some organisation to get there for most people.
NB It doesn’t matter if you are a teenager, student, adult or senior – everyone has something to contribute. Listening, receiving and acknowledging the passage of time can be rewarding of itself.
The Freedom at the End of Life course helps families and the seniors to get their later life into order. It creates clarity, gets tasks completed in a logical and timely way and can release much of the worry, anxiety, stress and burden about “what will happen when…” for everyone.
If you are interested in finding out more or purchasing the course please follow this link: Freedom at the End of Life Course
If you have questions – then please contact me.
Gayle
When is a good time to talk to your loved ones about end of life!
When is a good time to talk to your loved ones about end of life!
Posted by Great Guidelines for Later Life.com on Thursday, 6 April 2017
© Great Guidelines for Later Life 2017. All Rights Reserved.
