AARP Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life

by Richard Rohr

We all want and need various certitudes, constants, and insurance policies at every stage of life. But we have to be careful, or they totally take over and become all-controlling needs, keeping us from further growth. Thus the most common one-liner in the Bible is “Do not be afraid”;

Jesus seems to often find love in people who might not have received much love themselves. Perhaps their deep longing for it became their capacity to both receive it and give it.

There must be, and, if we are honest, there always will be at least one situation in our lives that we cannot fix, control, explain, change, or even understand.

I have lived much of my subsequent life like a man without a country—and yet a man who could go to any country and be at home.

it is only those who respond to the real you, good or bad, that help you in the long run.

Much of the work of midlife is learning to tell the difference between people who are still dealing with their issues through you and those who are really dealing with you as you really are.

Being totally received as we truly are is what we wait and long for all our lives.

so do not waste a moment of time lamenting poor parenting, lost job, failed relationship, physical handicap, gender identity, economic poverty, or even the tragedy of any kind of abuse. Pain is part of the deal.