A Life of Deep Caring
The musical “Pippin,” by Stephen Schwartz (of “Wicked” fame), is about the nature of deep caring. It involves the search for life meaning and the beginning of all types of generativity. The protagonist, Pippin, searches for meaning in life as the son of Charlemagne first through warfare, then through lust, then through revolution against his father, then through governance (replacing his father), then through exploration of religious practices and other pursuits, and finally through leading an ordinary life. He runs away from each path – initially including leading an ordinary life with a widowed woman and her son. Finally, he comes to realize that the woman and her son are really what he wants in life, and where true meaning can be attained even if in a rather mundane, day-to-day, and non-dramatic manner. Pippin is discovering generativity.
Journey of Discovery
Schwartz’ protagonist, Pippin, has initiated a journey of discovery not unlike Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and many other protagonists in novels, plays and myths (as noted by Joseph Campbell in his examination of dominant world myths). The difference between Pippin and Dorothy is that Pippin is traveling on a path toward orientation to the other (generativity), rather than on a path back home as is Dorothy. Perhaps this is because Dorothy is much younger than Pippin.
What might Dorothy’s journey be like if we were to provide a narrative of Dorothy years later in life when she is a caring parent, modeling the attitude and behavior of Auntie Em. Perhaps, as a mature adult, Dorothy would become a mentor or guide to young women who are restless about growing up in Kansas. She might even set up a scholarship program so these young women can spend a summer in a foreign land (if not Oz), or she might help to establish a museum that features the artifacts of traveling magicians and peddlers (like the Wizard). These would be portraits of Dorothy’s journey to deep caring outside herself and her desire to return home.
We have choices to make—just ike Michael Corleone, King Arthur, George Bailey, Pippin and Dorothy. Ultimately, we must choose between generativity and stagnation. Do we undertake the risk of learning and change? Or do we accept the status quo and refuse to take a risk? When we are stagnant rather than generative, we continue to do the same old thing. We settle for mediocrity, allowing our dreams and personal aspirations to wither away. We come to resent and even block the ideas and achievements of younger people. We dwell on the past, while abandoning the future.
Typically, stagnation sets in because we are afraid of change. We don’t believe for some reason that we can keep up with the next generation. A coaching intervention at this point might be of great significance. Coaching sessions could focus on this fear of change and the helplessness and hopelessness that attend this fear. Agency might be given attention: what can you (the client) do to not only keep up with the change, but actually benefit for it (hopefulness) (Seligman, 1991).
A Confiscated Future
In our own work as coach or consultant to mature men and women, we find they often specifically speak of personal fears associated with confiscated dreams of the future. They have sacrificed to realize personal aspirations and to fulfill dreams about family, career, and even retirement. What happens to so many during late midlife? They no longer have a future, for the future is right now. They have confiscated it and must now either savor the present day or create a new set of plans for the future. This is the process of generativity. Alternatively, if they live primarily in their past with old dreams, they are not the generative guardians that Vaillant identified. Instead, they are regressive defenders of a past that sometimes never really existed, and they don’t want the past to be incorporated into the present. This is the process of stagnation.
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