What we pass on in later life is not always noticed. A way of listening. A habit of care. The way someone shows up. Later in life, that may matter more than we think. This week’s Spiritual Signals looks at what different traditions have to say about
The Last Repair Shop Meaning There are some things we fix because they are broken. There are others we restore because they matter. That difference sits at the heart of The Last Repair Shop, the Oscar-winning short film set inside a Los Angeles workshop where a small
Renewal in later life is often spoken of as a beginning again. A fresh start. A return. But for many who have lived through loss or change, renewal does not arrive that way. It doesn’t restore what was. It doesn’t return things to their former place. And
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” — C.S. Lewis Spring returns with a kind of reliability we rarely question. The days lengthen. The light changes. The air is different. The seasons still turn. For
Retirement is supposed to bring relief. More time. Fewer demands. A different pace. And for many, it does. But after a while, something else becomes noticeable. The day is no longer organized for you. It is less clear where you are needed. The answer to “What do you do?” takes a
The Retirement Trap When Social Security was introduced in 1935, it was described as a safeguard against what lawmakers called the “hazards and vicissitudes of life.” The language reflected the gravity of the moment. The country was emerging from economic collapse, and old age, for many,
Last week we reflected on katabasis—the descent. The Greeks paired that word with another: anabasis, a going up. Not a return to the way things were, but a movement into something that follows. After a difficult stretch of life, there are times when a person begins
The Life That Is Already Here — A Form of Spiritual Wellness Ask someone what they plan to do in retirement and the answers come quickly. Travel. Learn a language or play the piano. Take up painting. Write a book. Read the books we already bought
Editor’s Note It has been some time since we last shared a From the Circle reflection. This one arrived recently and seemed important to share. A Reader’s Reflection There are moments when a reader’s words arrive with a certain weight—especially when they speak to the work of finding
The ancient Greeks had a word for a necessary descent: katabasis. The katabasis meaning is simple—a going down. In their stories, heroes did not always begin with triumph. Often the journey required entering darkness first, descending into uncertainty or loss before any wisdom could emerge. Many