The Twilight Years

These moving reflections were written after the death of the author's mother at the age of nearly 90 and after caring for her over a four-year period. She suggests that the trajectory of life is from earthly to spiritual, from caterpillar to butterfly and that the process of dying extends over the whole second half of life. Interestingly, she quotes Mihaili Mihailov, who was the political prisoner of the article in the last issue in terms of death as liberating from physical dependence (the body as prison) and the adversity of existence; this involves letting go and giving up self-will. She also draws on the work of Rudolf Steiner and Rilke who referred to the spiritualising of physical substance. The life review process involves a purging and purification, as suggested by the philosopher Schelling and described by Paul Robertson in his book Soundscapes reviewed in the last issue. It is here that we also need protection even as we are exposed to the reality of our own motives.