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A Season of Mystery: 10 Spiritual Practices for Embracing a Happier Second Half of Life
We live in a culture that tells us there are few things worse than aging, that we should avoid aging at all costs, and that we must shun death. And yet, no matter how much money we spend on health supplements, no matter how many gurus we consult, the fact remains We will grow old.
In A Season of Mystery , 60-year-old Paula Huston—a grandmother, and also a caretaker for her own mother and for her in-laws—shares with readers a far more fulfilling way to approach how we live and how we think about the second half of life. Each chapter offers a spiritual practice that is particularly suited to nurturing us in ways we would never have recognized in our younger lives. For example, the practice of “listening” helps us quit superimposing our own take on every situation before we have a chance to hear and see what is truly there; the practice of “delighting” encourages us to notice and be thankful for what is small and seemingly insignificant. Each of the 10 practices serves as an antidote to the classic afflictions of old age, such as close-mindedness, complaining, and fear of change.
A Season of Mystery is not intended to be a selection of self-improvement secrets; the goal of Huston’s work is to encourage people in the second half of life to become “ordinary mystics” who are no longer bound by the world’s false ideas on aging but instead be freed by God’s grace to embrace the riches that come only with growing older.
In A Season of Mystery , 60-year-old Paula Huston—a grandmother, and also a caretaker for her own mother and for her in-laws—shares with readers a far more fulfilling way to approach how we live and how we think about the second half of life. Each chapter offers a spiritual practice that is particularly suited to nurturing us in ways we would never have recognized in our younger lives. For example, the practice of “listening” helps us quit superimposing our own take on every situation before we have a chance to hear and see what is truly there; the practice of “delighting” encourages us to notice and be thankful for what is small and seemingly insignificant. Each of the 10 practices serves as an antidote to the classic afflictions of old age, such as close-mindedness, complaining, and fear of change.
A Season of Mystery is not intended to be a selection of self-improvement secrets; the goal of Huston’s work is to encourage people in the second half of life to become “ordinary mystics” who are no longer bound by the world’s false ideas on aging but instead be freed by God’s grace to embrace the riches that come only with growing older.
224 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2012
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December 31, 2017
Paula Huston's warmth, wisdom and ability to engage her readers shines through in A SEASON OF MYSTERY: 10 SPIRITUAL PRACTICES.
Considering the subject matter (of aging) she steers remarkably clear of clichés and well-worn witticisms, instead offering up her own experiences. Which includes an intriguing collection of friends who have guided Huston on her own life's journey. Like Father Bernard, a monk:
"On another occasion, a first-time visitor asked Fr. Bernard how he managed to keep his eyes on God through all his decades at the Hermitage. Don't you ever get sick of this? Don't you sometimes wish you were doing something else? Fr. Bernard shook his head, pointing out that monks have a saying that helps keep them focused.
'What's that?' asked the visitor.
'Memnto mori,' said Fr. Bernard.
'And what does it mean?'
"Fr. Bernard gave an impish grin. 'Hello, I'm going to die.'"
Far from being morbid, this ability to focus on final things helps clear the mind of fear of the future to be totally engaged in the reality of now.
Huston explains. "A daily meditation on dying can ease death's threatening sting, and it can also help us bear the grief that accompanies loss. The practice of memento mori reminds us that everything - our fondest memories of childhood, the physical relics of our most joyful moments, our very ability to see, hear, walk, and remember - are passing away, too. We cannot hold on to a single thing, no matter how hard we try."
Huston also has something poignant to say about how older folks are treated in Western society.
"How sad that one of the most crippling losses we have suffered during modern times is the dwindling respect for our elders," she writes. Because of this lack, "the elderly are often the last people we think of as our natural-born teachers... The ultimate result is a Grand Canyon-sized gulf between the very people who should be spending the most time together: wise elders and the young."
Huston sees aging as an opportunity to become holy. "The key to holiness is not strict moral turpitude, but a loving eyes-wide-open humility. They [the elderly] know themselves. They have a rueful familiarity with the nature of their own particular being."
She asks the question: "Does holiness become more possible for us as we age?"
I highly recommend that you read A SEASON OF MYSTERY and find out!
Considering the subject matter (of aging) she steers remarkably clear of clichés and well-worn witticisms, instead offering up her own experiences. Which includes an intriguing collection of friends who have guided Huston on her own life's journey. Like Father Bernard, a monk:
"On another occasion, a first-time visitor asked Fr. Bernard how he managed to keep his eyes on God through all his decades at the Hermitage. Don't you ever get sick of this? Don't you sometimes wish you were doing something else? Fr. Bernard shook his head, pointing out that monks have a saying that helps keep them focused.
'What's that?' asked the visitor.
'Memnto mori,' said Fr. Bernard.
'And what does it mean?'
"Fr. Bernard gave an impish grin. 'Hello, I'm going to die.'"
Far from being morbid, this ability to focus on final things helps clear the mind of fear of the future to be totally engaged in the reality of now.
Huston explains. "A daily meditation on dying can ease death's threatening sting, and it can also help us bear the grief that accompanies loss. The practice of memento mori reminds us that everything - our fondest memories of childhood, the physical relics of our most joyful moments, our very ability to see, hear, walk, and remember - are passing away, too. We cannot hold on to a single thing, no matter how hard we try."
Huston also has something poignant to say about how older folks are treated in Western society.
"How sad that one of the most crippling losses we have suffered during modern times is the dwindling respect for our elders," she writes. Because of this lack, "the elderly are often the last people we think of as our natural-born teachers... The ultimate result is a Grand Canyon-sized gulf between the very people who should be spending the most time together: wise elders and the young."
Huston sees aging as an opportunity to become holy. "The key to holiness is not strict moral turpitude, but a loving eyes-wide-open humility. They [the elderly] know themselves. They have a rueful familiarity with the nature of their own particular being."
She asks the question: "Does holiness become more possible for us as we age?"
I highly recommend that you read A SEASON OF MYSTERY and find out!
July 7, 2021
This really is a lovely book. In it, Paula Huston focuses on ten practices which will make the second half of one's life more fulfilling- listening, delighting, lightening, settling, confronting, accepting, appreciating, befriending, generating and blessing. She weaves in some robust monastic theology, her own experience and just a lot of compassion and humour to produce a book which is beautiful guide to transformation.
What I love about Huston's writing is that it is both deeply personal, but able to connect meaningfully to the deeply wise monastic tradition- a juxtaposition which is not easy to achieve. Those theological passages are intriguing and thoughtful and presented with a clarity which not only make their points intelligibly, but relates it back in a way that one can take it into their own lives. And that is what Huston does as she moves back into the more personal sections of her narrative. Both work together-the theology deepening what we've experienced about God in this time of life, but the experience making the theology relevant to our own lives.
The overall message of this book is a hopeful, but realistic one. The practices Huston explains aren't a panacea, but they are things that, if we do them, will make us better and, hopefully, the world around us. Whatever we face in this second half of life, that strikes me as more achievable than ignoring the realities of what is to come.
What I love about Huston's writing is that it is both deeply personal, but able to connect meaningfully to the deeply wise monastic tradition- a juxtaposition which is not easy to achieve. Those theological passages are intriguing and thoughtful and presented with a clarity which not only make their points intelligibly, but relates it back in a way that one can take it into their own lives. And that is what Huston does as she moves back into the more personal sections of her narrative. Both work together-the theology deepening what we've experienced about God in this time of life, but the experience making the theology relevant to our own lives.
The overall message of this book is a hopeful, but realistic one. The practices Huston explains aren't a panacea, but they are things that, if we do them, will make us better and, hopefully, the world around us. Whatever we face in this second half of life, that strikes me as more achievable than ignoring the realities of what is to come.
November 3, 2019
Hoped this would be The Book that I want about flourishing in the second half. There was some good stuff, but still not the book I'm hoping someone out there will write.
January 3, 2021
”So, how can we face old age and dying? We can set aside the comforting myths that tell us we can indefinitely postpone what’s coming next. We can cease the frantic efforts to achieve all our unfilled goals before we die. Then we can move into this most challenging phase of life with both eyes open, remembering that our real purpose here on earth is to be ‘servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries.’ (I Corinthians 4:1)”
I read a couple of books this year that are linked to the fact that I am getting older. I am 66 and have been retired for several years. My husband also has retired. We are on the downhill side of life.
I found Huston’s book to be enlightening and helpful. I should work my way through this book one more time.
I read a couple of books this year that are linked to the fact that I am getting older. I am 66 and have been retired for several years. My husband also has retired. We are on the downhill side of life.
I found Huston’s book to be enlightening and helpful. I should work my way through this book one more time.
December 31, 2012
Transcending the endless cycle of want-satisfaction also gets us ready for death and what follows. My friend Betty, age eighty-five, sums it up like this: "Getting old is about preparing for the next life. But nobody these days is thinking about that anymore." ...Being about 5 years behind Huston in age, I have just gotten to the point where the last year has brought some of the reminders for my husband and me in a "realization of change" ... or, in other words, we're getting older and on the doorstep of facing physical (and probably mental) changes that come with being old.
So how shall we face old age and dying? We can set aside the comforting myths that tell us we can indefinitely postpone what's coming next. We can cease the frantic efforts to achieve all our unfulfilled goals before we die. Then we can move into this most challenging phase of life with both eyes open, remembering that our real purpose here on earth is to be "servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries" (1 Corinthians 4:1).
A Season of Mystery asserts that this second half of life brings on the "best of times and the worst of times," as my eighty-five-year-old friend Brother Emmanuel ruefully puts it. The losses are painfully real. But so are the opportunities, if only we can allow ourselves to let go of the myths. When we do, we open the door to genuine adventure, including some of the richest spiritual experiences we may ever have.
This book resonates on a lot of levels although, thankfully, the realizations I have had which mirror Huston's have come at a lesser personal price ... in most instances anyway.
Each of the chapters considers a spiritual discipline that is especially suited to this time of life and which we may have been too busy to even consider before. Disciplines like "Listening," "Accepting," and "Befriending" may seem broad but they are directed toward helping readers be prepared for some of the classic obstacles associated with aging. In each, Huston gives her personal experiences and those of her much older friends. This gives a nice book-end look at where we may be now versus where we may wind up given perseverance.
This is not a difficult book to read, although you may find your thoughts turning more to last things after you have read it. But that's not a bad thing either, because if we don't have our eye on where we are going then we'll be unprepared when we get there. I read it in one evening. This also says something about how well accessible Huston's writing is.
One thing makes me laugh every time I turn the book over though. This is a book about aging and acceptance and Huston's photo on the back is clearly from a younger age or someone who is trying to look younger than they are (as I come across every single day in Dallas). It jars me every time I see it. Knowing, as I do, that publishers often go their own road instead of doing what the author wants, I don't know who made that decision. It is too bad, however, that they didn't use this photo of Huston on either the front or back cover. This is a small point but small points do matter.
NOTE: I wrote this for the Patheos Book Club. Publishers pay for the Patheos Book Club to feature their books ... and I received a review copy free. However, my opinions are my own and I love or hate a book on its own merits.
UPDATE
Well, well, well ... I was wrong about the outdated photo versus the newer photo. Ms. Huston said that the current photo is the one on the book and that she'd been told cutting her hair made her look younger. So we see she was told the truth! My apologies for my assumptions.
January 5, 2013
A few months ago, as my new pregnancy companion book was launching, my mother-in-law approached me and made a request she’s never made of me.
She asked me to write a book.
It’s hard entering the second half of life, she explained. Her kids are all adults, and some of her grandkids have started having babies.
She feels unprepared. She feels unsure. She feels like having a book to walk with her would be helpful at the very least.
I agreed.
But I didn’t think I was the person to write it. For one thing, this is outside my experience.
Thankfully, one of my favorite writers tackled the topic and wrote a book that I can now freely share and endorse: A Season of Mystery: 10 Spiritual Practices for Embracing a Happier Second Half of Life, by Paula Huston.
I read this book mostly in one evening. I couldn’t put it down.
Huston writes honestly and candidly, in a way that not only engages the reader, but that also plants itself within you. I’ve been thinking about various aspects of what I’ve read for days now.
I’ve always had a soft spot for the elderly, but now I think I have a deeper appreciation for the challenges that come with aging and changing seasons in life. I have a number of “mature mom” friends, and I cherish their wisdom; it hasn’t occurred to me that I support them in their struggles even as I share my own!
I won’t be in my second half of life for a while, but many people I know and care about will be (or are). This book is topping my list of resources to share and reread myself as I support them.
Highly recommended.
She asked me to write a book.
It’s hard entering the second half of life, she explained. Her kids are all adults, and some of her grandkids have started having babies.
She feels unprepared. She feels unsure. She feels like having a book to walk with her would be helpful at the very least.
I agreed.
But I didn’t think I was the person to write it. For one thing, this is outside my experience.
Thankfully, one of my favorite writers tackled the topic and wrote a book that I can now freely share and endorse: A Season of Mystery: 10 Spiritual Practices for Embracing a Happier Second Half of Life, by Paula Huston.
I read this book mostly in one evening. I couldn’t put it down.
Huston writes honestly and candidly, in a way that not only engages the reader, but that also plants itself within you. I’ve been thinking about various aspects of what I’ve read for days now.
I’ve always had a soft spot for the elderly, but now I think I have a deeper appreciation for the challenges that come with aging and changing seasons in life. I have a number of “mature mom” friends, and I cherish their wisdom; it hasn’t occurred to me that I support them in their struggles even as I share my own!
I won’t be in my second half of life for a while, but many people I know and care about will be (or are). This book is topping my list of resources to share and reread myself as I support them.
Highly recommended.
June 29, 2013
I purchased this book after reading a prior very profound book by the same author titled Forgiveness. This one is also excellent though quite different. Huston reveals more of her own background prior to returning to her Catholic faith and then becoming an oblate. She struggles now with the issues of aging and tells how we can avoid becoming a crotchety old person. The disciplines she describes include practices helpful to all: listening, delighting, lightening, settling, confronting, accepting, befriending, generating and blessing. A final chapter on Departing is touching and insightful. Husted illustrates each chapter with vignettes of her experiences with friends and family. She encourages us to view aging in a positive way, to appreciate the benefits of aging and the benefits of knowing and enjoying elderly friends.
December 15, 2013
I got this off of a friend's to-read list, with a vague interest in reading about life after 50. Ended up skimming it, finding it very heavy on lives of saints (it’s published by Jesuit Press, after all) and only a couple of insights. A little validating to read that yes, other people are mystified by the fact of knowing more and more dead people and by the mountain of stuff rotating through their lives – parents' stuff, grandparents' stuff, piling up in every corner of my small house and I can't bring myself to get rid of very much of it. Will my children be getting rid of it for me because I can’t stand to? Not many answers, though.
May 6, 2015
I used this book as part of a daily spiritual practice wherein I read, meditate and then journal. I am aging and going through the adjustments related to a retirement from ministry. I appreciated the steps or perhaps stages that one moves through as one accepts aging. The section on 'Listening' for me was excellent in that I often do not listen to myself, my soul. The last chapter on Blessings - well it brought to mind all the blessings in my life and my gratitude and love for my aunt who has been my touchstone all of my life. A good resource book for the journey of the spirit while aging.
December 18, 2013
As always, Huston is a clear and often lyrical storytelling, illuminating a spiritual practice through her own journey. Terrific reflection questions for each section are included at the end of the book, designed for small spiritual groups and spiritual direction. Each of us has to determine where the second half of life falls -- for some of us are aging more quickly, as our bodies give out faster than others -- yet these are good practices for life-long cultivation, too. So rather than worrying about "is this for me because I'm not old enough yet" dip in and find the connections.
September 14, 2024
* Ironically, (or not), I read this book on aging four years ago, and then totally forgot about it. And now, I've just reread it. My earlier review still stands....but now, after more time has passed, along with many friends and acquaintances, it's all the more quietly poignant.
First review: I enjoyed this one, in a quiet, contemplative way. An unassuming, non-flashy tome that resonates with "the second half of life."
First review: I enjoyed this one, in a quiet, contemplative way. An unassuming, non-flashy tome that resonates with "the second half of life."
May 20, 2013
I found this book beautifully written and thought-provoking. It's not just for an older person to read, but really anyone reflecting on what "the second half of life" holds. It's appropriate for both men and women.
I reviewed "A Season of Mysetery" in my monthly column for The Catholic Post:
http://readingcatholic.com/785/
Highly recommended.
I reviewed "A Season of Mysetery" in my monthly column for The Catholic Post:
http://readingcatholic.com/785/
Highly recommended.
May 16, 2014
Ten practices which encourage not just a 'happier' second half of life, but developing spiritual maturity. Paula Huston is a fabulous writer, and her spirituality is perceptive and rich. Among the spiritual tasks for the second half of life that she identifies are: Listening, Accepting, Confronting, and Blessing.
December 1, 2023
Very inspiring to me during Lent. Especially because the author left an upwardly mobile life behind to become a spiritual writer. Wonderful anecdotes mixed together with insights, will probably be a future book study selection at church (for us older folks).
December 4, 2012
Very good and practical ideas...ways we can make our life more enjoyable and more productive. Pleasant read.
March 2, 2013
Nothing new here.
August 18, 2013
We are going to die. Period. No amount of anything is going to stop that. This book reminds people to spiritually prepare for dying.
January 20, 2014
Refreshing look at the major benefit of aging--increasing in wisdom!
April 1, 2014
interesting, thought provoking.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews