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Are We Most Present At the Beginning and End of Life?


“The problem in middle life, when the body has reached its climax of power and begins to decline, is to identify yourself, not with the body, which is falling away, but with the consciousness of which it is a vehicle. This is something I learned from myths. What am I? Am I the bulb that carries the light? Or am I the light of which the bulb is a vehicle? One of the psychological problems in growing old is the fear of death. People resist the door of death. But this body is a vehicle of consciousness, and if you can identify with the consciousness, you can watch this body go like an old car. There goes the fender, there goes the tire, one thing after another — but it’s predictable. And then, gradually, the whole thing drops off, and consciousness rejoins consciousness.” ~ Joseph Campbell

Babies and older adults share several similarities in consciousness, particularly in terms of how they experience the world including:

  1. Present-Moment Awareness: Healthy babies and old elders live in the now.
  2. Curiosity and Wonder: For babies, everything is new while many older adults reconnect with a sense of wonder.
  3. Less Ego Attachment: Babies haven’t yet developed a strong sense of ego or personal identity while the operating system for those in the latter part of life is the soul, not the ego. 
  4. Dependence and Vulnerability: Both stages involve varying degrees of reliance on others for care and support. 
  5. Emotional Intensity: Babies’ feelings are pure and unfiltered, while old elders return to an authentic, simplified emotional state, valuing genuine expression over societal norms.
  6. Connection to the Transcendent: Babies are considered closer to the “source” of life or the divine, untouched by the complexities of worldly life, while olders get more spiritually curious as they age.

Are babies meant to be teachers for those late in life? Is this part of the reason why grandparents have such a raw, pure loving relationship with their kid’s kids? Is there a baby in your life that can be your teacher?

-Chip

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