Reflection Questions
Welcome to the Wisdom of the World - Joan Chittister

Chapter 2

• How do I describe the stage of life I find myself in today?  I name this stage as I experience it.

•  Do I resist aging?  In what ways?  What are the consequences of these attitudes on how I live my life?

 AND/OR

• Do I accept/embrace aging?  In what ways?  What are the consequences of these attitudes on how I live my life?

•  Chittister offers Eddy and Helen as examples of persons aging “well”:

• The importance of one’s tradition/heritage/cultural roots – for oneself and for those to follow
• Sense of belonging/family
• Icons of intellectual life – asking “unacceptable questions, seeking knowledge and new ideas, provoking others to think
• Vision of what should be rather than what is, based on high goals and “right” values
• Hunger for life; immersion in life

            Who are the Eddies and Helens in my life?  What does each bring to me?  To the world?

•  The chapter suggests opportunities of older stage of life:

• Contemplative leisure
• Holy wisdom
• An understanding of what kind of a person we have become over the years
• A willingness to stop blaming others for who we are and to decide who we want to be now
• Time to spend on something besides ourselves
• Time for determining what we really believe and why

Which of these “speaks” to me and why?

•  What message(s) does this chapter offer to me as a Secular Franciscan?

•  To what do I feel called after this reflection?

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