As an alternative to inevitable senescence, this book proposes a new model of late-life development called sage-ing, a process that enables older people to become spiritually radiant, physically vital, and socially responsible “elders of the tribe.”
Schachter-Shalomi, Zalman; Miller, Ronald S.. From Age-ing to Sage-ing: A Revolutionary Approach to Growing Older (p. 19). Grand Central Publishing. Kindle Edition.
What is this role of sage-ing that Schacter-Shalomi and Miller are proposing? What does the role of a sage look like? It is the flowering of what the Stoic philosophers call a life of virtue.
In Stoic philosophy the four cardinal virtues are: wisdom, self regulation, courage, and justice. If a person has spent their life cultivating these virtues what does this blossoming look like? How is it to be recognized, acknowledged, and benefit the society of which such a person is a part?
Some thoughtful people say that wise elders are needed more than ever in this period of rapid social and technological change when the moral compasses of past decades and centuries no longer seem to provide guidance for our social functioning and development.
Where to do you seek wisdom and to what extent have you obtained it?
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