{"id":38687,"date":"2024-10-07T10:32:18","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T17:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=38687"},"modified":"2024-10-07T10:32:18","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T17:32:18","slug":"meaningful-lives-in-an-age-of-longevity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/meaningful-lives-in-an-age-of-longevity\/","title":{"rendered":"Meaningful Lives in an Age of Longevity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe 21st century will be about adding value by coming up with ideas and innovation that can be replicated or purchased by others<\/span><\/em>.[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\n

The central theme of\u00a0The 100-Year Life<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>is the gift of extra years. \u00a0Focusing on the big forces of longevity, authors Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott persuade their readers to rethink the future of their lives individually, in corporations, and from a government perspective. \u00a0If age is no longer a way of thinking about stages of life, then what is the flourishing life to look like in the future? These are complex issues; yet, those looking forward to a long life are faced with making some early choices about what path to walk. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott are professors at London Business School. Gratton is a British organizational theorist and consultant and founder of HSM Advisory\u2013she is known for her work on organizational behavior. Ironically, her company launched the Future of Work Research Consortium where her work with the world\u2019s biggest companies focuses on the future. \u00a0Andrew Scott is a British economist and is also known for his work on longevity and macroeconomics. I found it interesting that he once served as a lecturer at Oxford University and that during the first half of his academic career, he focused on fiscal policy, business cycles and debt management. \u00a0Thinking back to our discussion of Postmodernism[2]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0of how the academic world and culture are being attacked bearing the fruit of skepticism toward meta narratives, I was surprised how these two academic authors and thinkers presented a more objective perspective of values about longevity. \u00a0I was also slightly cautious.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why Gratton\u2019s and Scott\u2019s Reasoning Surprised Me<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Finances and making more money makes life easier but that wasn\u2019t their driving point.<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The three-Stage Life of education, work and retirement worked well; it\u2019s a lock step plan followed by people born in the 19th and 20th centuries. \u00a0With the theoretical lives of Jack, Jimmy and Jane, Gratton\u2019s and Scott\u2019s analysis show that when life extends, people won\u2019t have any choice but to work longer. Even though they conclude that the three stage life model just won\u2019t work for our extended lives, based on economic data[3]<\/a><\/sup>, they also argue that a very long retirement will unlikely provide the stimulation and camaraderie people value and need. What surprised me about the first third of the book was how much I resonated with the truth that money, while important, really isn\u2019t everything when it comes to dealing with a long life. The chapter on financing helped me break through a barrier I was experiencing because I do want to work longer but not just for the money; I want to \u201cConsider ways of redesigning life so that long [life] becomes a gift that is energizing, creative and fun,\u201d[4]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0reflecting a flourishing life.<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \u00a0Future Human beings will still have the advantage over AI and Technology<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Reminiscent of our brief discussions last semester on tacit knowledge and Eve Poole\u2019s work[5]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0on AI, the authors made a believable case that AI does not have certain capabilities. \u00a0A significant amount of human knowledge is tacit. We solve complex problems by relying on our expertise, inductive reasoning and communication skills. Similar to Poole\u2019s junk code concerning our messy emotions and our unshakable ability to keep making ourselves,\u00a0The 100 Year Life\u00a0<\/span><\/em>capitalizes on our intangibles, our creativity, our empathy, and that at the end of the day, it\u2019s love that makes us happy\u2013[6]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and a healthy brain![7]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Most of us teach or communicate for a living; how do we reimagine education shifting as people have 5 or 6 careers over their very long lives? What kinds of classes would need to be taught? How does this impact the role of the Church? Will this happen in a university? How will it look in the future. But the driving question for me was WHO has this longer life advantage? \u00a0With our current inequalities in healthcare, education and job markets, I wondered if the longer life would be one of flourishing for everyone? And it was here where my thinking started to stray as I finished reading the book. Where is the 100-year-life a very real part of God\u2019s plan for us? The reason I ask is I believe a longer life must have deeper meaning than just length of days.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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      1. What Might a Meaningful Long Life Achieve?<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        First Peter 3:10-11 (first recorded by David in Psalm 34) challenges our desire for a long life by saying, \u201cWhoever desires to love life and see good days, let her keep her tongue from evil and her lips from speaking deceit; let her turn away from evil and do good; let her seek peace and pursue it\u201d (ESV). Or Proverbs 3:1-2, \u201cMy son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you\u201d (ESV).<\/span><\/p>\n

        I read\u00a0The 100-Year Life<\/em> a<\/span>round the same time we walked through the National Archives during our Doctoral Advance in Washington D.C. last week with our three cohorts.\u00a0\u00a0Power & Light<\/em>,<\/span>\u00a0by photographer Russell Lee, documents the plight of Americans for the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression focusing on various American coal communities. \u00a0The documentary helped change the narrative around the coal strikes of 1946. \u00a0What stayed with me about Lee\u2019s exhibit was the strength and resilience these families demonstrated in the face of harsh surroundings. Lee was meticulous about documenting the details of the coal miner\u2019s lives, deductions in pay, lost work days, perilous conditions, and the union meetings where they fought for better treatment. \u00a0The outcome was social change. \u00a0Russell Lee inspired a nation for social change through his photography. \u00a0He believed, \u201cvisual evidence of struggle and hardship could generate support for reforms.\u201d[8]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

        As we consider what it means to live 100 years, you and I could potentially achieve quite a bit. \u00a0At the end of the day, the only reason I would want a longer life for me or my family is if the form we would take could be a meaningful path of social justice, speaking for the voiceless, and having freedom to make choices for another person\u2019s freedom. \u00a0I don\u2019t just want to spend my energy on how to produce something that can be replicated but I want to live by values, like Russell Lee, who used his life to define and shape something that would last beyond this life and into eternity.<\/span><\/p>\n

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        [1]<\/a>\u00a0Gratton, Lynda.\u00a0<\/span>The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity<\/span>. London, UK\u202f; Bloomsbury Business, 2017. P. 75<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [2]<\/a>\u00a0Hicks, Stephen Ronald Craig. \u201cExplaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault.\u201d Roscoe, Illinois: Ockham\u2019s Razor Publishing, 2011.<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n<\/div>\n

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        [3]<\/a>\u00a0The authors used official UK ONS data, if Jimmy is born in 1971 his cohort based measure of life expectancy, given he is currently 45, is actually 87. P. 247.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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        [4]<\/a>\u00a0Gratton,\u00a0<\/span>The 100-Year Life<\/span>. P. 45.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [5]<\/a>\u00a0Poole, Eve.\u00a0<\/span>Robot Souls: Programming in Humanity<\/span>. First edition. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n<\/div>\n

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        [6]<\/a>\u00a0Gratton,\u00a0<\/span>The 100-Year Life<\/span>. P.73<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [7]<\/a>\u00a0Rock, David.\u00a0<\/span>Your Brain at Work, Revised and Updated: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long<\/span>. 1st edition. Harper Business, 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n<\/div>\n

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        [8]<\/a>\u00a0\u201cPower & Light.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        \u201cThe 21st century will be about adding value by coming up with ideas and innovation that can be replicated or purchased by others.[1] The central theme of\u00a0The 100-Year Life\u00a0is the gift of extra years. \u00a0Focusing on the big forces of longevity, authors Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott persuade their readers to rethink the future of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":180,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3176,3297,110,1870,412],"class_list":["post-38687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-evepoole","tag-the100yearlife","tag-happiness","tag-life","tag-meaning","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38687"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38689,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38687\/revisions\/38689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}