A Time For Self-Renewal – Sunday, August 23, 1981
If spring is identified with youth and winter with the senior years, then summer must surely be the time of midlife.
We hear a great deal about something called the midlife crisis—that very real psychological transition between youth and middle age. No one escapes it. But the process is not permanent, and it can provide a unique opportunity for self-discovery, renewal and fulfillment.
This crisis doesn’t have to mean chaos or disaster, and it doesn’t have to leave permanent scars. But it does mean change. Life will not be the same afterwards.
For realists, the early signs of restlessness and anxiety are short-lived stages. But some people spend their entire lives trying to work through the problems, and society’s youth cult intensifies the frenzy. Some men trade in old homes and habits for new ones. Some women look for wrinkle creams and surgery. But mature individuals celebrate their age with enthusiasm, with delight and pride. They don’t engage in the desperate race to keep the particular excellencies of youth.
Our looks may change, and a few character lines may appear, but if we have used our minds and bodies to their fullest, our mental, physical and spiritual vigor should not diminish.
For most people, the midlife transition is simply a matter of recognizing and acknowledging the inevitable. Many come out of this period feeling better about themselves, their lives and their work. A great sense of calmness sets in, and extraordinary productivity takes place.
At this stage of life, we are usually more in charge of our own lives than ever before. We are more acquainted with our moods, and we can react less emotionally to the moods of others. And there is the relaxing realization that so many problems aren’t worth worrying about because they’ll shortly be replaced by others, often more interesting.
People who survive the mid years best are those who, in psychiatric language, have good ego strength—people who like and enjoy themselves. And the most fortunate individuals have also discovered the need for God and religion in their lives. They have found that drinking from the life-sustaining water of Christ’s well will ease the problems of middle age…or any age.
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August 23, 1981
Broadcast Number 2,714