Beltane Summer Moon
Another word for your third phase consideration: purpose. People who have purpose do much better than those who don’t, especially in the third phase and in several senses.
“It’s a very robust predictor of health and wellness in old age,” said Patricia Boyle, a neuropsychologist at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Chicago. NYT, Living on Purpose.
Lower rates of Alzheimer’s and mild cognitive impairment (by significant amounts, JAMA article) as well as lower rates of mortality were noticed in people with high purpose scores. Too, the protective powers of purpose seem unrelated to age. (SAGE publication on Purpose and Mortality.)
Purpose covers a wide range of matters. I looked it up in my favorite, the OED. Here’s a germane definition or two: 1. That which one sets before oneself as a thing to be obtained or done; the object which one has in view. And 3. The object for which anything is done or made, or for which it exists; the result or effect intended or sought; end, aim
When this article crossed my horizon, Frank Broderick and his mitzvahs came to mind. 81 years old, bad hip pain from lower back, Frank braved the surgery at some risk so he could keep on helping people. “I’d rather wear out than rust out.”
Among certain folks helping people defines life’s purpose. And it certainly can, Frank being a strong example of the type. But helping others is far from the only purpose that can invigorate the third phase. A friend makes art. They are books, visual memoirs. I don’t know if he would define them as a purpose for his life, but they seem to be. Another friend has built a company well-known for excellence. The work no longer stimulates him (and hasn’t for a long time), but helping the company make a graceful transition to a time after his leadership, that does. That’s a clear purpose. Another has organized a group to focus on maintaining a healthy sea shore in Maine. Yet another freely shares his expertise with the computer, with building websites while another continues a life-long passion for drumming. If I understand this literature correctly, each of these have a real and solid guard against the onset of dementia and the likelihood of a longer life.
Made me wonder about myself. What is my purpose? Well, you’re reading part of it. Yes, the written trail I’m leaving behind is part of what gets me up in the morning. So does working with the land and with plants. Working for a sustainable human path on this planet. Being a good husband, father, grandparent, friend. A reliable partner for the animals in my life. There’s that Latin work I’m doing, too. Art and art history are a passion. Novels, too. So, I feel like I have a reasonable seawall against dementia and at least a shot at a longer life. And that’s on purpose.
