Sage-ing: Socially productive Aging

What is sage-ing?  There are a variety of terms being used to reflect what it means to grow in wisdom such as positively aging, intentionally aging, and consciously aging.  Bob Buford calls it socially productive aging where people are deeply engaged in contributing to the lives of others because that is where the legacy of their lives will live on. 

Buford interviewed more than 120 people who were making a meaningful difference in the lives of others and living with passion and contagious enthusiasm.  His conclusion was that these people intentionally repositioned themselves for full effectiveness and fulfillment in life's second half.  He found that there was a period in mid-life where they asked the key question about "What now? What next?"  This was usually followed by a period of experimentation so that they could decide how to proceed in the next phase of life. 

What Buford found is that these people were determined to continue to live in productive ways just as they had done in the first half of life.  But the key is that they were intentional about making life decisions.  They were willing to devote time and energy into figuring out what they wanted to do with their lives that would give them meaning..

This is what sage-ing is all about.  Living life on purpose and with passion and realizing that for most people this does not just happen to them.  But they make something happen by being on the sage-ing journey.  It sounds so simple, yet we need to be informed if we are going to make good decisions given all of the choices which we now face. 

So how do we get on the journey? 

How do we become informed? 

These are the ideas I am going to continue to explore.  Any ideas are welcome.

Jann's Note:  For many people, sage-ing does not happen naturally.  It takes setting an intention and making conscious decisions.  It mean taking control of your destiny rather than just drifting through life.