What Gives Meaning to Our Lives—as we age?

Three days ago a friend of mine, an esteemed retired sociologist, informally interviewed 25% of the residents of an Assisted Living Residence (age range from 77 to 100).  She asked the question  “What gives meaning to your life?”  The answers to this question were organized into the following categories:

1. Active engagement in life – doing things with others that are personally meaningful (over 50% of the respondents gave an answer that fit here)
2. Positive relationships with family & friends (over 30% fit here)
3. A reasonable degree of structure, control and independence in my life (over 20% fit here)
4. Reminiscing about my past -- when I was active”    (over 10% fit here)

Note that some answers could be used in more than one category.

I am using these informal interviews and summary in a short talk with the residents of that Assisted Living Center about mattering as we age.   It is especially interesting that these interview results fall almost exactly the way I would have predicted based on decades of psychological research and theory re: well-being (as we age). 

Notice that the first two categories concerning active engagement in life and positive relationships with family and friends, cover close to 90% of the respondents between them, and they are all about meaningful relationships and doing things with others.   Category three, the role of structure/control/independence is difficult to understand well, for this cluster of “meaningful needs” is usually only noticeable when it is missing.  The fourth category, reminiscing, is interesting because research identifies that the link between reminiscing and well-being happens when positive/redemptive experiences are the essence of stories told.

A church, planning an older adult ministry would be wise to take such informal outcomes into account as they consider purposes and strategies.  I welcome responses, comments, questions, and additions.

Bruce