Blogging from A to Z April 2024 Challenge: Z

Aging: The Good, the Bad, and the Tolerable

Z is for Zen and the Art of Life Review

Zen is a state of mind of being fully present, free from the constraints of the ego, and open to the wisdom of the universe. It is a state of pure awareness.

A life review is a procedure for reconstructing our pasts in a manner that can provide three personal benefits that many of us need as we grow older:

1. An acceptance of the events and choices that have shaped our lives, reflecting gratitude for the life we’ve been given rather than self-doubt and regret.
2. A more authentic (and thus more robust) understanding of who we are and how we got to be that way . . .
3. A greater clarity in the direction our lives should take going forward, reflecting what we have learned from the experiences and the purposes that have given our lives meaning in the past.

Psychology Today. Ph.D. July 28, 2021

Robert Butler, M.D., gerontologist, and psychiatrist, (1927-2010) defined Life Review in 1961.

He writes:

(Life Review) is characterized by the progressive return to consciousness of past experiences, in particular the resurgence of unresolved conflicts which can now be surveyed and reintegrated. The old are not only taking stock of themselves as they review their lives they are trying to think and feel through what they will do with the time that is left and with whatever emotional and material legacies they may have to give to others.

Life review can be as structured as having a therapist take an extensive autobiography from the older person, or family members, using family albums and scrapbooks, and other memorabilia. It can be as simple as an untrained person “listening” as an older person recounts their life. Robert Butler. Why Survive? Growing Old in America. p 412- 413.

Life Review provides benefits to all ages. Hopefully, leading to a better understanding of the meaning of ones’ life and purpose and a Zen attitude going forward.

This is my last A to Z challenge. I’ve enjoyed the effort. And I’ve enjoyed the writings of my fellow A to Z contributors. I wish you all a Zen state of mind.