It would be hard to overestimate the importance of Mary Catherine Bateson’s work. Her latest book Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom may sound like it would be of interest mainly to those of us over 60, and it is of vital importance to those who want to come to grips with how to approach the healthy years when their children are grown and they may have more time to reflect and redirect their energies. However, its implications and usefulness are far broader. There are many questions that are relevant for our focus on children from birth to age 8, some of which are touched on here.
What will the child’s view of her own life’s potential be when she sees her grandparents and great-grandparents living fulfilling lives? What stereotypes need to be re-examined in light of Adulthood II, the phase of relative health that has been added after the childbearing years and before “old age” sets in?
Also, given the greater mobility and increased potential for pursuing individual interests in years after 60, what changes can be expected in the role of the grandparent as that special person, authority yet not in the truly parental sense, the keeper of family lore, the patient playmate of the youngest children/
In workshops, parents often point to Skype as a blessing for keeping generations connected, and it is. What other ways are there to be intentional about making sure that there is a sense of continuity and family culture that can play such a pivotal role in children’s resiliency?
Some references from this conversation”
Generations United
The workshop at the Open Center in NY was with Legacy of Wisdom Progject
A short video of Dr. Bateson speaking about Mission as part of Legacy of Wisdom Project
The Amos Fortune Forum http://www.amosfortune.com/fulldescriptions.html
Feel free to contact me at mary(at)healthymediachoices.org
(c) Healthy Media Choices 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Mary Catherine Bateson, Anthopologist, author of Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom