Friday, October 21, 2011

Stages of Life (Friday Five)


Since it is almost my birthday and because my spiritual direction peer group is reading Living Fully, Dying Well by Edward W. Bastian and Tina L. Staley, I am thinking of my life in stages. For the latter group, we filled out a form dividing our life into 7-year increments, documenting "significant moments," then "people who guided and influenced me," and ending with the question, "What did this phase contribute to the continuum of my life?" This was a life Review Exercise devised by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.

For today's Friday Five, I am suggesting that we each divide our age into 5 sections. You don't have to say your age or ages for the different parts, unless you want to. In each of the 5 points, please describe a memorable and/or significant event, either good or unpleasant.

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Hmmmm . . . . . I might have to do the good and the bad, which seem to come in waves rather than moments:

1) Young childhood ~
The good: growing up in the country and being surrounded by many acres of fields, woods, and streams in which to wander, from sunrise to late at night.
The bad: The car accident in which my mother and baby brother were killed and my other younger brother and I were badly injured.

2) Adolescence and very young adulthood ~
The good: New England autumns.
The bad:  Never mind.

3) Early adulthood ~
All good and wonderful, starting with the births of my three children.

4) Real middle age ~
Also good and wonderful: Making the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.
The bad: Yeah, let's skip that, too.

5) Moving along, and switching order ~
The horrific and agonizing: Josh's death.
The good: The incredible friendship and love that has come my way since that terrible night.

6) Happening and coming up:
The pretty bad: Breast cancer.
The astounding: Beginning a new form of life in ministry and being ordained to same next Sunday! 

(And yeah, I am way too old for five stages only!)

4 comments:

  1. Your link worked! Your idea of putting both good and bad is better. I knew about Josh's death, but not about that terrible car accident when you were young. You've had many losses in your life, yet you continue to show God's love to us all. Blessings.

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  2. Waves vs. stages...a good metaphor. I often preach "life is messy". True beyond true.

    Blogger is being weird...this is Purple.

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  3. The good and bad is right on... probably for each of us. Congratulations on your Ordination! Glad to have you in our mist.

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  4. So many tragedies, and yet you balance them so beautifully with the blessings in your life. You are a gift and blessing to the church and to all of us. Thanks for sharing here and congratulations on the ordination!!!!!

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