John Sullivan, a former Elon University philosophy professor, presented the first session of the LIFE@ELON program last week, a non-credit educational program for alumni and friends of Elon who are 50 years of age or older. The first session was called Welcoming the Gifts of Later Life: Lessons from Autumn and Winter.
Sullivan taught for 36 years at Elon. He has written four books, one of which is specifically about the benefits of aging and the gifts of later life.
While Dot Lindley said she had many reasons for attending the first session of LIFE@Elon, one of the things she was most excited about was the presenters.
"When I saw who the presenters were, I knew I wanted to attend," Lindley said. "I admire them all so much. Elon does everything so well, I knew this program would be special."
During the lesson, Sullivan presented the various stages of life as they were understood in ancient India, where every stage of life had a purpose.
"Aging is not decline, but relaxing into something deeper," he said. "We tend to think of life stages only in chronology, not in purpose. In ancient India, each stage of life had a task."
Lindley said Sullivan's presentation was particularly relevant to her own stage in life.
"The things that John talked about gave me such peace and understanding," she said.
Anne Maynard was another participant in the first session. She is an Elon alumna who grew up in the town of Elon, just a few streets from where the session took place in the Johnston Hall Alumni Center.
"I love the way that John's stories put his message into focus. He's such a great speaker," Maynard said.
Another part of Sullivan's speech centered on the tasks of grandparents. He said grandparents can use their broad perspective to "keep the big things big and the little things little." He also said that grandparents encourage creativity in young people.
"The youngster going through the first love and first betrayal thinks that their whole world has collapsed, but elders know that they will find new love, they will live through betrayal," Sullivan said.
Maynard said the talk helped her put things in perspective.
"I feel like I have gained a way of accepting changes in life, and how I can use changes to help others," Maynard said.
Sullivan also said the transition into elderhood is one should be re- imagined, and later stages of life are poorly understood in today's culture.
The LIFE@Elon program will feature 11 more sessions this fall. Because of overwhelming response and participation, there will also be an additional 12 sessions taught in the spring.