The Leveson Centre for the Study of Ageing,
Spirituality and Social Policy
Journeying through Old Age and Illness
Leo E Missinne WP Professor of Gerontology, University
of Nebraska
Reviews of Leveson Paper Number 10
by: Yvonne Chapman | Leslie Houlden
Published by the Leveson Centre for the Study of Ageing, Spirituality
and Social Policy, 2004,
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I couldn’t put it down. This is a paper to be
recommended to all engaged in any of the caring professions, not least
to those who work with older people in our society. In fact it is
for all on our journey through life.
Leo Missinne has given us a profound and practical view of the whole
landscape of our human journey as one that inevitably involves us
in suffering, from the moment of birth even to old age and death itself.
But this is no sad or depressing view. He says, ‘To dream of
a life without suffering is to forget that suffering has always been
part and parcel of human existence’ and, ‘if humanity no
longer has the capacity to suffer, all that is left is a narrow path
with few chances of knowing what being a human really means.’
This opens the way for a consideration of suffering in its many forms,
its interaction in body, mind and spirit, the negative and positive
results that can occur and the essential place of sharing our own
and another’s suffering even if it be in the simple, silent presence
of just being there.
Missinne meditates on the profound Christian belief and experience
that the way of suffering, of diminishment, can be liberating, for
it can be an entering into the Way of Christ. The darkness of pain
and despair that we may see in others or know in ourselves brings
us to the foot of the cross. Here is the mystery of the Christian
faith, that in the surrendering of life, even to death, there is the
discovery of life in all its fullness. This is no mere theory. Missinne
draws on examples of the way human beings can rise above intense loss
and pain and in their brokenness become a source of inspiration and
growth in wholeness of being – for themselves and for those who
are touched by them.
While I began to read with expectations of getting straight to the
challenges of old age, I recognised the intention of Missinne in using
the first half of his paper to help us to see suffering as an integral
part of the whole of our life. To cope with the process of ageing
becomes easier if we have served a long apprenticeship in the experience
and acceptance of suffering. The second half focuses on ageing itself:
every individual will face this in a different way, depending on their
own life’s journey, beliefs and attitudes.
Those who care for ageing people with their particular experience
of loss and diminishment will find a depth of understanding and practical
ideas that can only enrich their work and encourage them in it. The
‘waiting’ at the end of life, the ‘meaning of past,
present and future’, ‘catching the hidden meaning of words’,
and especially ‘taking care of the Carers’ are just some
of the topics which he explores. Behind all of his writing Missinne
draws us deeper into the mystery of life and the heart of the compassionate
God who calls us to follow in his way. We are fortunate to have so
much given in so accessible a reading.
Yvonne Chapman (Anglican priest and a member of the Executive
Committee of the Christian Council on Ageing)
Professor Leo Missinne's Leveson Paper makes a rich
contribution to the studies to which the Leveson Centre is dedicated.
It covers a broad canvas and addresses the situations and needs of
many different groups, so many in fact that only those who truly feel
no difficulty in suffering or no response to it are excluded. Some
of us play the roles described one at a time in the course of our
lives, others are so placed that their lives are multi-faceted, and
all the more problematic (or truly rich?) as a result.
The Paper opens with a meditative consideration of suffering in all
its universality and diversity, and in its many styles and degrees.
We consider the virtues to be found in suffering, virtues which may
indeed never surface in a particular life without the situation of
suffering. So suffering can be the necessary occasion of good. We
see this put, briefly, in the context of the Christian tradition (to
which it is of course central), but mostly we have devout wisdom,
meditatively presented.
We turn to the specific trials, characteristics and opportunities
of ageing and old age itself; and finally (and usefully) to the attitudes
necessary for the effective care of the elderly. Here there is much
imaginative and useful insight, highlighting best practice.
It is a Paper which pauses to express what is a way we all know but
are rarely in a position to stop and explore.
Leslie Houlden
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