I recently came across this reflection by Jean Vanier, from his book Community and Growth (Darton, Longman & Todd 1991) about the potential for old age to enlighten those around us. He considers it “the most precious time of life, the one nearest eternity” and goes on to say:
“There are old people with a child’s heart, who have used their freedom from function and responsibility to find a new youth. They have the wonder of a child, but the wisdom of maturity as well. They have integrated their years of activity and so can live without being attached to power. Their freedom of heart and their acceptance of their limitations and weakness makes them people whose radiance illuminates the whole community. They are gentle and merciful, symbols of compassion and forgiveness. They become a community’s hidden treasures, sources of unity and life. They are true contemplatives at the heart of community.”
It has been a privilege for me to spend time with a number of older people I call to mind who have become for me a source of unity and life. They have helped me catch a glimpse of the way God is at work. The poet R S Thomas wrote: ‘Over love’s depths only the surface is wrinkled.’
Rachel Walker, Project Coordinator