ABSTRACT
Erikson's dialectic of the final stage of life is integrity/despair: acceptance of the authentic life well lived and/or surrender to the belief that it is too late to create another. Sheehy called it the "hunger for harmony" and identified resilience and self-mastery as critical characteristics for elders reaching for integrity (p. 356). Moore (1992) addressed the dialogic nature of integrity directly: "Care of the soul means not taking sides when there is a conflict at a deep level. It may be necessary to stretch the heart wide enough to embrace contradiction and paradox" (p. 14). When the constant "tasking" of middle age slows down, there enters the time and freedom to feel both
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6. Conclusion 6. Conclusion 6. Conclusion
despair and integrity. Moore noted, "When we can let go of the need to be free of complexity and confusion" (p. 304) we embrace our dialectical natures and accept dialogically the range of experience from despair to integrity. We can rediscover how to play and love and live, but this time from a more conscious vantage point. Is this heightened appreciation universal? Probably not. For some, the disintegrative aspects of aging may overwhelm the integrative possibilities.
