Don't just grow old, keep growing up

Ruminating again . . .

I’m at a point of life where I still have an annual birthday. 

According to the developmental psychologists, well one Eric Erickson (1902-94) in particular I’m still growing my personality. 

In case you haven’t heard of him, he was an “apprentice to one Sigmund Freud’s” school of thought.

• Freud's theory of psychosexual development is one of the best known, but also one of the most controversial. Freud believed that personality develops through a series of childhood stages during which the pleasure-seeking energies of the id become focused on certain erogenous areas. This psychosexual energy, or libido, was described as the driving force behind behaviour.

Erik, in ruminating about Siggy’s system thought; “is it really all like that?”

• The Freuds focused on the psychosexual aspects of development; but Erikson’s psychosocial theory identified how other/more influences helped to broaden and expand the field of psychoanalytic theory. Erik contributed to an understanding of personality as it is developed and shaped over the course of the lifespan.

Erik observed development is lifelong. It occurs in our world of social and self interactions. It has stages with characteristics, challenges, tasks, and expectations
  
I'm thinking about it this way . . .

• Life expectancy is the length of life we may live
• Expectancy life is the way we live for all of life’s length – expectancy is a synonym for hope.

Erik made this cool observation . . .

• Hope is both the earliest and the most indispensable virtue inherent in the state of being alive. If life is to be sustained hope must remain, even where confidence is wounded, trust impaired. 

Jeremiah communicated this cool observation from God . . .  

• I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. (29:11)

Paul who had seen a whole lot of "doing life" sums up on “expectancy-life” this way . . .

• We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!  But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. (Message Bible)

COOL or what!