Traversing Midlife Territory

Carl Jung identified 5 main phases of midlife:

*Accommodation (meeting others' expectations - actually, this takes place in the first part of life, but is the context in which midlife processes take place)
*Separation (rejecting the accommodated self)
*Liminality (a period of uncertainty, where life seems directionless and meanders)
*Reintegration (working out 'who I am' and becoming comfortable with that identity)
*Individuation (facing up to and accepting the undesirable aspects of our own character)

I work with folks in their 80s, 90s, & 100s. They have surrendered and come through this midlife journey. They are my role models; they are my life line as I traverse through this midlife territory. They are incredibly beautiful people. Their bodies may be unpleasant to look at sometimes, but their souls are intact and they are the most loving group of people I have worked with thus far in my career. There is a peaceful endlife waiting for us, and it can be seen in our elders.