Harvesting wisdom as a legacy for next generation
The journey of self-discovery never ends
It is a term that is gaining popularity these days in spiritual circles. Sage-ing. A process of approaching aging as a positive journey filled with wisdom, learning and possibility.
“It affirms the importance of older years and teaches how to harvest life’s wisdom and transform it into a legacy for future generations,” is how Rabbi Zalman Schacter-shalomi describes sage-ing.
Schacter-shalomi, along with Ronald Miller, wrote the key book on the topic: From Age-ing to Sage-ing: A Profound New Vision of Growing Older.
Judy Steiert of Calgary was trained to be a sage-ing leader in 2004 in Indiana.
“People feel like there’s something missing, but they don’t know what they don’t know. . . . It’s that creation of that awareness — that there could be something more beyond just the working time that you’ve had in the workforce.”
There’s “an inner kind of look at yourself that can happen as well,” says Steiert, who operates Elderquest Options Inc. in Calgary, and will be the program chair for the 2012 Sage-ing Guild International Conference in October in North Carolina.
The theme of that conference is Wisdom Speaks: The Art of Aging.
“The inner work of the sage. Or living from the inside out. There’s a difference that elders can make because of their life experience. . . . We have a lot of wisdom from the life experience. When people can acknowledge that together in a group, they realize there’s something else they can do.”
A Sage-ing Circle facilitator training workshop will be held in Calgary from March 2 to 4 at the Scenic Acres Retirement Residence, 150 Scotia Landing N.W. The cost is $325 for the workshop.
The presenter is Rosemary Cox, an expert in the field.
For more information on the workshop, contact Steiert at 403-286-8338 or jsteiert@shaw.ca, or visit the website at www.sageingguild.org.
“Sage-ing is a wisdom and contribution-based approach to focusing on the importance of the stories, experiences and lessons accumulated throughout the journey of our lives,” says a brochure on the workshop.
“Sage-ing evolved from Native American traditions that value respect and experience and teach members of a community how to cultivate their wisdom and pass it on for future generations.”
Topics for the workshop will include: fostering a healthy self-concept; building a positive life vision; tapping wisdom and spirituality; forgiving and healing relationships; creating a personal legacy for future generations; finding meaning from life experience; and becoming leaders and healers in the community.
The brochure says sage-ing principles are non-denominational, but they can enhance spiritual maturity for those who do hold a faith or denominational preference.
And it says the workshop is geared to the following people: professionals, allied professionals and lay leaders who are dedicated to adults and the issues that they face later in life; educators; clergy and lay leaders; social service professionals; senior residential and independent living leaders; and healthy aging industry professionals.