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This is the third in our series on life transitions and it deals with finding meaning and living with purpose - what the Village's Transitions Task Force identified as "Existential Transitions." Here is how some Village members described this issue in their lives:
"How do I find a meaningful way to use my accumulated talent and experience (not just fill up my time) by making a significant difference in the world? How can I add value and gain a sense of accomplishment? How do I make fuller use of myself?"
"I stay socially active but finding meaningful life purpose still eludes me."
"This phase is a constant joy!"
For some it is a struggle - for others it is not. What follows will provide you with some insights on both the struggle and the joy and some resources to help you explore your own possibilities. We undertake this journey in the unique way of a Village - as a community of mutual understanding and support.
The Professional Point of View
Take an Encore
by Bonnie Kepplinger
In his article "How Do We Find Purpose in Life?" Marc Freedman discusses later-life purpose and the challenges and opportunities facing those of us in our 60s, 70s, and beyond who are taking productive encores after official retirement. A surge of people moving beyond midlife -- an estimated 9 million Americans -- "have moved into second acts at the intersection of purpose, passion, and a paycheck," in what Freedman calls encore careers. Such careers, driven by purpose and fulfillment, are transforming what was once regarded as the leisurely Golden Years. The people effecting this transformation represent "a potential windfall of human capital" and talent. Their resources, goals, and  talent make them "arguably the most entrepreneurial segment in society."
Recent research on health and well-being in the later years of life reveals that cognitive deterioration is significantly slower among purpose-focused people, even those whose brains show signs associated with Alzheimer's. So the incentive to adopt goals in the second half of life goes beyond personal fulfillment. The question is how do we move our lives toward a productive second act?
First of all, we must recognize we are pioneers who are redefining the later stages of life in the 21st century. Sixty-five is no longer a benchmark for retirement, nor is it the new 40 or 50. Sixty-five is the new 65! (We are not trying to recapture youth but to live productively in the present.) This next chapter of our lives could last two decades or more. How do we fill in this "elongated trajectory"? Some are going back to school. Others are integrating skills they have accumulated during their lives. Still others are reinventing themselves in radical life transformations. But all these life changes are fruitful, rewarding, and directed toward a better future.
We need more role models and opportunities in our pursuit of purposeful later years. Among Freedman's suggestions are expanding internships for older adults who want to explore new roles and designing classes that hone meaningful skills. And there must be financial support for risk takers. "Where are the Individual Purpose Accounts to go along with Individual Retirement Accounts, designed to assist in financing the often costly transition to purpose-driven work after 50 or 60?" he asks. Just as the United States has produced retirement communities and senior centers in the past, it must now come up with innovations that enhance extended lives and make longevity "the payoff it deserves to be."
Here are some questions Freedman offers to help orient those contemplating life transitions.
1. What strands of your own life and experience are most essential to your personal values? How might they be applied to life's second act? (See profile of Aviva Futorian below for an example of this.)
2. What are the most important things our society can do to encourage and support transitions to purposeful and productive contributions in the stages of later adulthood?
3. Is a purpose different from a duty? from a faith? If so, what is the difference?
4. Finding your purpose is important whatever your life stage. In what ways is that process different for young and older people?
You can read Freedman's complete article here.
Sitting on the End of a Log
by Bruce Hunt
A business school professor friend often described "sitting on the end of a log" as a way of capturing the wisdom of an aging executive or absorbing the fresh insights of a young consultant. That metaphor aptly illustrates my experience with two Village program guests. Both speakers have some provocative and insightful things to say about this month's transition challenge: finding purpose in later life.
Dr. Peter Whitehouse: The Importance of Purpose in Our Lives
I had breakfast with Peter Whitehouse before his presentation to the Village community on April 17. I was supposed to interview him but we ended up sharing stories from each end of our log. That does not surprise, because he labels himself a narrative neurologist, knowing that personal stories are the way we make sense of our lives.
Peter's interests are wide-ranging, but what was even more arresting were the connections he makes among those varied interests. As a professor of neurology at Case Western Reserve, he is of course preoccupied with the healthy brain. But he intends to take brain health to a deeper and broader level. Deeper in that he has found a strong connection between brain health and a sense of purpose. Broader in that brain health requires examining the nature of communities we are part of. Click here to read Dr. Whitehouse's article on the subject. Thinking with other people improves the odds of solving tough problems. We in the Village know something about thinking collectively. We are now finding that collaborating enhances our own health. It also makes for healthier communities. 
These conceptual connections are given substance by connecting older people and younger kids in the Intergenerational School that Peter Whitehouse and his wife Cathy have put together in Cleveland, Ohio. (Click here to learn more.) Here's where the depth and breadth of healthy living are demonstrated in practice. Elders who serve as mentors for the younger students derive a sense of efficacy and purpose. The students benefit from the elders' wisdom. And both groups discover their common humanity. Peter delights in telling the story of the woman who was named volunteer of the year. Her memory was so compromised that, at the awards ceremony, she did not recall actually doing this volunteer work. His point: everyone can contribute to their community and have purpose.
Dr. Bill Thomas: The Importance of "Elderhood"
I have not actually sat on the end of log with Bill Thomas, but I am looking forward to doing so when he comes to Chicago on May 6.  (Click here to see the event flyer; see event description below). His book, Second Wind, presents a sweeping examination of how the so-called Boomer generation has shaped our notions of aging and what we might expect as these folks become elders.
By paying attention to what happened when this generation emerged from childhood into adolescence and then into adulthood, by noting the turmoil of the 60s and the apparent resolution later in the century, Thomas can predict some likely patterns as the Boomers get older. Evidence is already emerging: Denialists will rely on the aphorisms and the products of the anti-aging industry, in searching for an "ageless body and a timeless mind." Realists will demonstrate a blend of hope and fatalism; aging means decline but you can slow the process. Enthusiasts, likely for a time to be the smallest cohort, will be encouraged by the correlation of aging and happiness.
One difficulty we face in even talking about our situation is that we are presently stuck with a three-part model for humanity: childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Period. That's it. Thomas presents himself as an ambassador for the fourth stage, elderhood.
And the contributions he sees elders making are powerfully illustrated in his three chapters on Slow, Deep, Connected. That is the heart of the book and the central recommendations for what we must do and the three themes I want to ask him about when I sit with him on the end of a log.
The Personal Point of View
Janet Ohlhausen: Until the Right Thing Comes Along
by Barbara Sandler
Life's second act can be a real show stopper. A balancing act that only displaces one evil for another. Never having enough time with having nothing but time. And filling that void with new and meaningful possibilities can fuel people's uncharted lives with disturbing angst.
Estelle Spector an active Village member, struggled with the "what-now/what-next" question, after retiring from an exhilarating life, packed full with every aspect of theatre. In an early newsletter, she observed, "being busy does not necessarily mean you're fulfilled." Estelle's insightful comment certainly resonates for another active Village member, Janet Ohlhausen.
"Taking up time is not fulfilling. It is what it is: a time filler."
But Ohlhausen, a retired Special Education teacher, is quick to add that time-fillers do provide us rewards.
"It doesn't give us what we're really looking for but it does give us things to do, while we continue to look for something that has real meaning to us- a movie, dinner out, a meeting -- are all entertaining and pass time in a good way."
"This in the transition part -- going from work (or whatever occupied you) to retirement or middle age. And those who come to this transition with a passion are a helluva lot better off."
Ohlhausen found that the two sides of life -- work and pleasure -- were one and the same for her. "I was engaged with teaching special needs children and when that stopped, what engaged me was no longer present in my life." More than the teaching, her real engagement came from the psychological, social work parts of her work. "Being helpful was a real attraction for me -- it was part of the sixties notion of doing good."
Ohlhausen retired in 2002, whe n she felt she was no longer in step with the culture and times of the parent population. "I couldn't feel their world and felt it was time to let someone else come in -- but I left when I felt good about all aspects of what I was doing. I was willing to close that chapter- but I never filled that place and it's been a long time."
But beginning the transition, leaves many people uncertain about the first step -- their motor stalls and needs to be jumped. For Ohlhausen the jumper cable was exercise. "I realized that structure is crucial in my life. So I now have a ritual of exercise five mornings a week through the Chicago Park District -- it's been a very positive step in the transition process -- it provides structure and then I can move on to other things."
One of the things she does enjoy now is her "stuff," by which she means her art collection. "My artistic stuff brings me pleasure - I'm surrounded by charming things," says Ohlhausen of her varied art collection.
Comfortable being alone, Ohlhausen also knows the darker side can be lonely. "Leaving the house means leaving loneliness behind but when there's an anxiety to it, I spend more time filling life with activities."
A self-described foodie, Ohlhausen is a member of a group that prepares dinners for other Village members. She's also a member of the Village's Great Books and enjoys Village art events and the Women's Discussion Group. "I'm making good use of Village activities and meeting interesting people."
"I've accommodated myself to growing older, having my aches and pains. I get pleasure from friends, theatre, art, music- it's satisfying even if it doesn't create passionate joy. I'm still capable of wows."
(And for the record, Ohlhausen gave the April potluck supper and sing-a-long, an enthusiastic, "Wow!")
Jackie Mattfeld: Finding Meaning in Second Adulthood
by Catherine Rategan
When Jackie Mattfeld talks about finding meaning later in life, she knows whereof she speaks. At age 88, she has an impressive bio that includes advanced degrees in humanistic gerontology, art history, and music history. For the last twenty years, she has taught, lectured, and written about the theories and experiences of late-life development. She co-developed the M.A. in Gerontology program at Northeastern Illinois University and established the Program in Creative Aging at the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago. Her most recent position was Founding Executive Director of the Center for Creative Aging of Harold Washington College. She retired in 2011 and remains active as a volunteer for the C.G. Jung Center in Evanston and for Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly. On Tuesday. April 1, at the Women's Discussion Group, Mattfeld kicked off the Transitions and Transformations program for Village members.
As a follow-up to that program, we asked what advice she can offer about finding meaning in later life. "Whether you do it alone or work with others, it's important to explore ideas about what can or does bring meaning to your life," she said. "For most  of us, it means finding how to connect with other people in ways that satisfy your sense of community." She suggests making friendships that go beyond church suppers. "It takes trust to form new friendships and get to know people well enough to share joys and laughter and hardships," she continues. "Ask others to identify what gives meaning to their lives."
She also advises seeking out individuals who are highly creative, especially those whose creativity expresses itself in organizations. "When you ask creative people about this, they often put their friendships second only to their work. The failure to find meaning in life can be a drain on one's health. It can be called failure to thrive in older adulthood, and has some parallels to failure to thrive in childhood."
Mattfeld cites a neighbor of hers who, after her husband died, developed an interest in painting. "She became well known for her art, but then, because of macular degeneration, she lost her ability to see colors," says Mattfeld. "To accommodate her condition, she transferred her interest to charcoal drawing. When she could no longer see well enough to work in that medium, she became deeply depressed and died within a year."
One of the role models she cites is Mary Catherine Bateson, a writer and cultural anthropologist and the daughter of Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson. Bateson is a professor emerita at George Mason University and has written several books on aging, most recently Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom on the contributions and improvisations of engaged older adults.
Bateson explores a new stage in the life cycle which she calls Adulthood II created by unprecedented levels of health, energy, time, and resources. Bateson sees aging today as an "improvisational art form calling for imagination and willingness to learn." As adults find themselves entering Adulthood II, making the choices that will affirm and complete the meaning of the lives they have lived, they can contribute their perspectives and experience of adapting to change by engaging with others and contributing what Bateson calls "active wisdom." And finally, Mattfeld has provided a bibliography for those interested in reading more on this subject: 1. Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life: How To Finally, Really Grow Up. James Hollis, Ph.D. (2005) 2. The Art of Aging: A Doctor's Prescription For Well-Being. James B. Nuland, M.D. (2007) 3. The Creative Age: Awakening Human Potential in the Second Half of Life. Gene D. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D.2000) 4. Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom. Mary Catherine Bateson, Ph.D. (2010) 5. Inventing the Rest of Our Lives: Women in Second Adulthood by Suzanne Levine (2005) Aviva Futorian: Applying the Strands of Your Own Life and Experience to a Second Act by Bruce Hunt Village member Aviva Futorian is an example of someone who has continued to find meaning and purpose in later life. She doesn't worry about finding interesting projects to engage her lively mind. Some of the threads of her present commitments go back a long way. She participated in the civil rights movement in Mississippi in the sixties, with the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Among other things, she worked on voter registration, school integration, and she helped to start a newspaper called the "Freedom Train." In her recognizable little blue car, she delivered the paper to sharecroppers and to folks in town. Returning to Chicago from Mississippi, she determined that a law degree might enable her to act as a catalyst for social change, and so she got one at the University of Chicago, after which The Women's Law Project of the Legal Services Program engaged her for some time. In 1992, a death penalty case in which she was involved served as an epiphany. "I felt, 'There but for the grace of God go I.'" In addition to handling death penalty appeals, she became active in efforts to abolish the death penalty. After Governor Ryan commuted all death sentences in 2003, Aviva became concerned with the situation of long term prisoners, most of whom were not eligible for parole. She also became involved  with the 200 men who were sentenced before 1978 when parole was abolished in Illinois and who are still eligible for parole. "Typically only the events surrounding their crime are examined and not their subsequent behavior, so their cases come up every year and rarely is there any change." So Aviva is now training younger lawyers to defend these folks at their parole hearings. The lawyers are eager to learn and it gives her some hope for the future. She is now working with a small group to introduce a statute that will bring back parole to the vast majority of prisoners who are not eligible for parole. She is also developing policy to establish volunteer-led education programs in prisons. She cites the example of an ex-prisoner now working to reform the criminal justice system. When she asked him what had caused him to change his ways, he talked about a volunteer educational course which had demonstrated to him "there's a big world out there." Aviva has been a long-time member of the board of the John Howard Association, which monitors the state's prisons and correctional facilities. When asked where she gets refreshment to continue the struggle, she said: "From my friends, some of whom are my long-term prisoner clients. I have become attached to many of the people I work with; that keeps me going." For those interested in reading more on the subject of finding purpose on life:
It's Easy to Find Your Purpose Again After Retirement
Key to a Healthy, Happy Retirement: Having Fun
How to Find Your Passion in Retirement Three Retirement Challenges the Experts Never Told You About Some advice on the meaning if life from Hunter Thompson - when he was only 20 years old! http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/11/04/hunter-s-thomspon-letters-of-note-advice/ There's More to Life than Being Happy http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/theres-more-to-life-than-being-happy/266805/ | 
