You know buzz words are important when you see them raised over and over in a variety of places. When it comes to things that are important to a person’s health, particularly in later life, “Meaning and Purpose”, are all the buzz!
Living to 100 in the Blue Zones
About 10 years ago, I was first made aware of the role of Meaning and Purpose through the observations of Dan Buettner and his work in the Blue Zones. These are areas around the globe with the highest proportion of centenarians in the population. In looking at what these areas have in common, meaning and purpose, are running threads. You can learn more from the Netflix docu-series, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.
This is where I learned that there is a word in Japanese which helps to expound on the idea of meaning and purpose: Ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy) . Literally it means, having a reason to get out of bed in the morning. It refers to that personal motivation that propels us forward from our own center. When people know that there is a reason for their existence, for the gifts that they contribute to the world, they tend to live longer.
The Purpose Equation
I have had the opportunity to learn about the work of Anna Hall. She has researched and studied meaning and purpose and developed an “evidence-informed, time-tested framework” that guides people to “discover, define and activate their unique purpose”. Her company is, The Purpose Equation.
“Purpose is not a goal or role. Who you are, what you are drawn to, how you think, and how you’re built—that’s your purpose. It informs how you show up for your roles and achieve your goals.” Anna Hall
Her interest in understanding purpose began with her earlier career working in aging services. She noticed, like many of us have, that there are some individuals who thrive in later life. They just seem to know how to connect with others, how to give of themselves and interestingly, seem to regularly experience joy. As Hall began this journey, she was sought to find a way for other older adults to uncover their purpose and experience that joy. What she found is that everyone across the life course benefits from this discovery.
Purpose and Joy
Hall also has found that joy is the human emotion and state of being that fuels our ability to have energy, to exchange purpose. She calls this Joyfuel. “We all have access to joy, even in the midst of grief and sadness”. She has come to understand that purpose is something unique to each one of us. And we are the only ones who can identify what that purpose is, by paying attention to when and how we experience joy.
And even though we change and grow throughout our lives, there is a through-line in this connection. For instance, even though I engage with creation in different ways now than when I was a child, I have realized that being outside in creation refreshes my spirit. I don’t have to be outside for very long. And although my standing around with binoculars looking up into trees for birds is very different from when I was a child playing outside, it is my experience of being outside that is most important.
But whether standing or running, my actions are not the point. For me, it is the opportunity to be outside, to breathe the fresh air and see the wonders of God’s created world. Although I knew this, it was through working with Hall that I have come to appreciate this connection between the relationship of my experience in creation and my experiencing joy which fuels my energy to engage with those things that are most important to me.
Circumstances Change
As I mentioned, the ways in which I experience being in nature have changed throughout my life however, my understanding and appreciation of interactions with the created world have only deepened and grown. And although I know that I will continue to change in the future as my body continues with the aging process, I anticipate that I will need to find new ways to connect with the natural world.
Elinor was my birding mentor. I must confess that when our families camped together in the north woods in Ontario when I was 12 and 13 years old, I was not at all interested in paying attention to the birding adventures she, my mother and others took. I was much more interested in hiking at a much faster pace or spending time in the lake. But I had absorbed the sparks of her interest in spite of my supposed indifference at the time. Ten years later, when I talked about the various waterfowl that inhabited the ponds in a park near our first apartment, my mother gave me a pair of binoculars and field guide to identify the birds.
Around the age of 40, I voluntarily went with Elinor and a group of her friends to experience spring migration on the shores of Lake Erie. My initial reason was to spend time with my Mom who was a part of Elinor’s birding groupies. My own teenage kids at the time called me a “bird nerd”. But I came to realize that I come away energized from seeing the beauty of the creatures in the beauty of the creation which helps to ground me. This joy, this energy, is connected then to how I experience my place, my purpose in the world. I have come to understand birding as a sort of spiritual discipline.
Fast forward a couple more decades when Elinor had to have a partial leg amputation and her ability to leave her new home in assisted living prohibited birding walks and trips. Disappointed, but not devasted with her limited access, she had a bird feeder set up outside her window and she kept track of the winged visitors she could observe there. She prepared a PowerPoint presentation to share her knowledge with the others living in their community about the birds that were migrating around them and what they could expect to see in the various feeders around the building. She was a good teacher and she loved to share new things with new people.
Influencing Aging Abundantly
Elinor’s circumstances changed. But the joy that came from engaging in the hobby/sport/spiritual practice of observing birds in nature did not. She adapted as she needed to in order to experience that connection which had been so important throughout her life.
I have come to claim Elinor as one of my “Abundant Aging Influencers” in that I often thought, “when I am Elinor’s age, I want to be like her!”. Her adapting to the changing circumstances is just one of the ways she influenced my thinking about aging.
I won’t go into more detail about all the various people who are my Abundant Aging Influencers—those who have modeled for me how to thrive in later life. But one of the common attributes they all share with Elinor is that they understand what it is important to them. They contribute, often in new and unexpected ways, to the communities around them. Like Elinor, these people have a purpose, they experience joy, both large and small, and have at least one reason to get up each day and contribute to the community around them. May I be so engaged in my coming years.
The blog writers will be reflecting on meaning and purpose in the coming weeks. We are building up to our 9th Symposium on October 4 with the theme: Meaning, Purpose and Redefining Retirement. Whether you can join us in-person on the northside of Columbus, Ohio, or join us via zoom, please come and continue to explore this year’s topic. And come and meet Anna Hall, along with other amazing thought leaders as we think about this transitional time of life.
For Reflection (either individually or with a group)
Read the blog. Read it a second time, maybe reading it aloud or asking someone else to read it aloud so you can hear it with different intonation and emphases. Invite the Divine to open your heart to allow the light of new understanding to pierce the shadows of embedded assumptions, stereotypes, and ways of thinking so that you may live more abundantly. Then spend some time with the following questions together with anything or anyone who helps you reflect more deeply.
- What is your Ikigai (reason to get out of bed each morning)? Why?
- Who is your abundant aging influencer? What do you admire most about them?
- How is your purpose related to your belief and trust in something divine?
Download a pdf including the Reflection Questions to share and discuss with friends, family, or members of your faith community small group.
