Spiritual Aging: Beyond Doctor Visits and Exercise Plans
A reader recently asked why we seem to focus more on physical issues as we age than the spiritual ones.
When my friend Sarah turned 75, her calendar looked like a medical directory – physical therapy on Mondays, blood pressure check on Wednesdays, cardio class on Fridays.
“I spend more time in waiting rooms than in my garden,” she told me, “and that’s not how I imagined my retirement years.”
Like many aging adults, Sarah felt caught in the treadmill of physical maintenance while her spirit yearned for something more.
The problem is, your doctor won’t write a prescription for soul care.
Your Medicare plan won’t cover meditation classes.
Yet research shows that spiritual wellness plays a crucial role in healthy aging, reducing anxiety and increasing life satisfaction.
So why do we focus almost exclusively on the body in our later years?
Understanding Soul Nourishment
Living with MS for decades has taught me that physical challenges can either shrink or expand our spiritual horizons.
When my body refuses to cooperate, I’ve discovered richness in small moments – the way sunlight plays on my desk while writing, the depth of a friend’s voice on the phone, the quiet companionship of early morning meditation.
Soul nourishment comes in countless forms. For some, it’s the creative spark of writing or painting.
For others, it’s watching grandchildren discover the world or tending to a small garden. These activities aren’t just hobbies – they’re lifelines to meaning.
Medicare doesn’t cover contemplation time. No doctor prescribes daily doses of beauty.
Yet at 77, I’ve learned that managing appointments and medications is only half the equation.
The other half – the soul work – requires intentional choice and often gets pushed aside for more “urgent” matters.
Practical Steps for Soul Care
Start small. I have a routine every morning that includes prayer, reading and journaling.
It may not be for everyone.
Here are three tiny steps you may want to add to your day if you aren’t doing them already:
- five minutes of morning silence before checking the news,
- a gratitude journal by your bedside so you can easily write either when you wake or as you go to bed at night (or both), and
- A weekly phone call with someone who makes your spirit sing.
Let’s be honest – some spiritual practices sound suspiciously like work. And isn’t retirement supposed to be about avoiding that?
But here’s the thing I’ve discovered:
Soul care can be playful.
Yesterday, I found myself reading Richard Rohr while my feet were pedaling away on an exercise bike. And every evening I engage in a friendly game of cribbage. My soul rejoices (sometimes), relaxes, and moves into deep rest for the night.
The beauty of soul work in our later years is its flexibility. No one’s grading us on our meditation technique or checking how many pages we’ve written in our gratitude journal.
We’ve earned the right to be spiritual rebels, mixing contemplative practices with afternoon naps, finding profound meaning in chocolate consumption, and declaring our crossword puzzle time as sacred as any monastery’s prayers.
The key is making these practices sustainable.
At our age, we know ourselves well enough to distinguish between what sounds good on paper and what we’ll actually do.
Choosing soul-feeding activities that make your heart smile, not just your conscience nod in approval is the key to good soul care.
As a writer who practices interfaith spirituality, I’ve found that mixing traditions enriches, rather than dilutes, meaning for me.
Buddhist meditation enhances my Christian prayer life. Jewish wisdom teachings deepen my understanding of sacred texts.
And I am nourished by such poets as Rumi and Rilke. Light comes from many sources and I grieve the many years I did not apprciate this.
The challenge of physical limitations
Integrating physical limitations need not limit our spiritual growth. Chair yoga becomes moving meditation. A slow walk becomes pilgrimage.
When I go the one hundred steps to the mailbox I can either rush to get it accomlished with no benefit to my soul, or I can engage in contemplative walking— slow and intentional.
I feel my connection with the earth…and all who walk upon it. I recall a name or a situation with each footfall, trusting in the mystery of prayer.
Even medical waiting rooms can become spaces for prayer, contemplation, or perhaps just rest.
The fact that the reality of death is a constant companion once we reach ‘a certain age’ adds urgency and sweetness to the integration of spiritual practices with everyday actions.
Finding Your Path
Not everyone’s soul soars with meditation. Not everyone finds peace in a garden. At 77, I’ve learned that authentic spirituality often looks messy, unconventional, and uniquely personal.
Some find their deepest connection during daily swims, others while sketching birds at their window feeder.
One friend swears her weekly pottery class is more spiritually nourishing than any sermon she’s heard.
The trick isn’t following someone else’s spiritual roadmap
– it’s recognizing what makes your own spirit come alive.
Maybe it’s the way your grandchild’s laughter echoes in your kitchen, or how your hands remember every knitting stitch even when your mind wanders.
These aren’t just pleasant moments; they’re portals to something much deeper.
Adapting to our physical limitations
When living with chronic illness, or the increasing challenges of aging, we learn to adapt our spiritual practices to our physical realities.
Some days, contemplation may happen from a hospital or nursing home bed.
Other days, it’s in the quiet space between physical therapy sessions.
The path shifts, but the journey continues.
At day’s end, aging invites us to a deeper conversation with life. Yes, keep your medical appointments. Do your exercises. Take your medications.
But don’t forget to feed your spirit. It’s hungry for meaning, connection, and growth – right up until our final breath.
Time to explore
This week, I invite you to experiment. Choose one small soul-nourishing activity and give it fifteen minutes daily. It could be journaling, sitting in silence, or even mindfully drinking your morning coffee.
Notice what feeds your spirit and what feels like an obligation.
Then drop me a note in the comments – I’d love to hear what you discover about your own spiritual path.
Remember, there’s no “right way” to nurture your soul; there’s only your way.
Want to explore this topic further? Join our online community of folks who like to reflect or write or converse about many of life’s questions. https://www.facebook.com/groups/thereflectivecollective We share our journeys, questions, and discoveries with one simple prompt a day.
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