Life Purpose in the Later Years

Clarity and Peace in the Autumn of Life

Joe Armstrong

Aug 16, 2024

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Paddy, our collie, snuggled up on Joe’s lap in an armchair at home. Photo © Ruth Armstrong

Hi there,

I wrote in my journal last Monday, 12 August 2024: ‘What do I see now as my life purpose?’

A Life’s Work: Books, Trees, and Children

In my 20s, my GP shared a simple yet profound idea: ‘Write a book, plant a tree, father a child.’ In those few words, he offered me more meaningful spiritual guidance than the nine years I spent immersed in the manmade religious ideals of obedience, poverty, and celibacy in a Catholic seminary.

A man reads a book to a little girl sitting under a tree. — ‘Write a book, plant a tree, father a child.’

Now that I’m in my 60s, I’ve written several books, planted numerous trees, and fathered two children. So, what now?

I reflected: ‘There are injustices in the world, but there always will be. I can’t change the world. But can I change myself?’

The next day, I wrote: ‘I don’t have to write another memoir. I don’t have to complete the audiobook of Book 2.'

Morning Reflections: Nature and Self

Wednesday, 14 August, 6:20 am:
‘I’ve opened the blinds in my office. It’s a beautiful morning. The five green fields, to the east, merge with the morning mist in the distance.

‘Our garden, to the south, is lush with 40 shades of green—grass, Portuguese laurel, crab apple, hazel, hawthorn, and holly; blackthorn, blackberry, pheasant-berry, and Japanese barberry; maple, mountain ash, dogwood, and Scotch rose.

Nine pictures of grass, shrubs and trees. — Some of the 40 shades of green that we're lucky to have in our garden.

'‘Beyond our garden, big ash trees stand by an unseen road, with tall spruce trees further away. Woodpigeon, jackdaw and wren songs welcome the dawn. Where have all the other birds gone?’

Further down the page, I wrote: ‘And what of me?’

Faltering and Moving Forward

A line from Tennyson’s ‘In Memoriam’ came to mind: ‘“I falter where I firmly stood.” Yes, I feel that—a faltering, inner and outer. Losing strength or momentum, hesitant, unsteady, lacking confidence. Even stopping. Stopping writing?’

bare trees on a foggy road — *‘“I falter where I firmly stood.” …Stopping writing?’* Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

At 62, most of my life is behind me. ‘If I had 31 years left, how would I spend them? Much would depend on my physical and mental health. Writing remains the most attractive.’

‘Self-knowledge. The unexamined life is not worth living. My first memoir ended with me trusting my gut and leaving religious life. My second memoir finished with Ruth and me making another big leap—leaving our permanent, pensionable jobs in England to pursue our dreams in Ireland, with Ruth as a full-time mum and me writing from home.’

I realized I cannot write a third memoir.

The Bucket List: What’s Left to Do?

Yesterday, 15 August, I journaled: ‘I hope to be healthy of mind and body, enjoy life, continue to grow, and live each precious moment wisely.’

Children can be taught human values including honesty, compassion and equality. Image created by Microsoft Copilot.

‘What’s on my bucket list? As a writer, I feel I’ve more to say. I would like to contribute to a paradigm shift in society’s willingness to indoctrinate children into religion and instead endorse human values: honesty, integrity, compassion, equality, communication, self-awareness, self-acceptance, self-knowledge, welcoming the stranger, belonging in the human community, forgiveness, encouragement, kindness, and affirmation.’

Finding Paradise in the Present

16 August 2024:
This morning, I journaled: ‘My present life is the nearest thing I’ve ever had to paradise. I’m married to Ruth. I love her. She loves me. We’re both healthy. We love our home, our education, and our life experience. Our adult children have embarked on their independent lives.’

In the last day or two, Paddy acted like a lapdog, clambering onto my legs as I sat in my armchair. Ruth took a picture and sent it to me.

Setting plans aside for gut reasons feels right. I’ve decided not to write a third memoir, at least not for the foreseeable future. There will be no third memoir. As for the audiobook of my second memoir, which is one-quarter completed, I’ve lost the will to continue recording and editing it. Perhaps I’ll use excerpts from it in my Substack.

Happy days,

Joe

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