A Series of Fairy Tale Workshops: About Tasks & Opportunities of the Second Half of Life

Each week, registered participants will be sent a fairy tale illustrating a task of the second half of life. In working through the tale, we will uncover the inner vitality and richness of this exciting new phase of life. The first tale, The Wise Merchant, focuses on the wisdom one develops by confronting evil in one’s self and the world. With inner knowledge of the shadow and one’s own evil, one learns about facing difficult tasks. (June 4)

The second tale, The Widow and the Frog, focuses on generativity and self-transcendence. The widow, in her relationship with the young masculine, serves as a model for relations between elders and the young. Youth have energy, enthusiasm and emotion, but often lack practical grounding. Elders, through their life experience, can help model practical grounding. This is a developmental task and challenge of aging, not just accumulating years. It is the difference between being an elder and being just elderly. (June 11)

The final tale of this series, The Simple Grasscutter, combines several of the themes discussed in the earlier weeks. Self-reformation in this tale leads us to the question, "What is enough?" The development of self-acceptance and self-integrity are vital second-half-of-life tasks. In this story, they lead us to know, "I am who I am. I have lived as I have lived." Through these tales, we will explore the vital mysteries of aging, its joys, and its sorrows. (June 18)

​Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Examine Jung’s idea of individuation through story, as each illustrates different tasks and opportunities of the second half of life.

• Demonstrate, through an exploration of these fairy tales, how they can help therapists, their clients, and laypeople connect to a deeper understanding of the tasks we all face as we age.

• Gain an understanding of how myth and story can enliven client and personal insight about aging.