Joan Erikson, one of the authors of The Life Cycle Completed, says the type of retreating from the usual activities of daily living that occurs in gerotranscendence is consciously chosen. Erikson goes on to say that the Eighth Stage of Psychosocial Developmental that she and her husband, Erik Erikson, formulated focuses on the individual looking back at the life lived. (For a complete discussion of eighth and ninth stage see my article, The Ninth Stage of Life.) On the other hand, gerotranscendence sees the older person looking to the future. It means seeing a new self and a changed worldview. She says:
The normal societal model for old age has been to encourage letting go, but not seeking a new life and role — a new self. To reach for gerotranscendence is to rise above, exceed, outdo, go beyond independent of the universe and time. To grow old is a great privilege.
If you haven't reached the age of gerotranscendence or haven't had the opportunity of hearing about life at this stage from someone who is experiencing gerotranscendece, it's difficult to believe such a startling change occurs as we age. It's rare to get insight into the reflective thoughts of the elderly so I’ll close with an unprompted story from a New York City playwright, Robin Rice Lichtig, who opened a window for me on the aging process. She did not know I was preparing this article nor did she know about gerotranscendence when she wrote the following paragraph on a list serve about her parents.
Four years ago I sat with my parents on the deck of their passive-solar home in Vermont, breathing in the beauty of mountains and meadows, pond and white birches. Mom remarked how funny they used to think people were when they got old and spent hours doing nothing but sitting, yet here she and Dad were, spending more and more time just sitting on the deck, letting life soak into them, reliving memories together. These, she said, are the best times of all.
