Embracing the Possibilities of Elderhood: A Personal Journey

Old age -- later life -- golden years -- post-retirement -- third age - the third act - silver horizons - terms abound trying to describe the later decades of life. We may have an easier time knowing what “childhood” and “adulthood” might be but what is the lived experience of navigating these later years of life? I asked a friend and colleague, Gail Hinchliffe, to share her story of transition. I long admired Gail during her career as she provided unique and creative living centres for older persons wanting a supportive environment. Gail shares her personal journey into the later stages of life: a stage she calls "Elderhood".

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"To everything there is a season ..."  Ecclesiastes 5:1-8

It’s now late fall in Calgary and, as I write this, we are still enjoying warm days with sunny skies. It’s a gift for those of us who enjoy getting out for a walk - or just welcoming the pleasurable feeling of warm sun on our face though the air cools. Thoughts of winter are momentarily suspended. Gratitude is frequently expressed. This fine weather encourages us to live more in the present moment as we anticipate the inevitable changing conditions of winter.

These late fall days represent liminal space for me. Liminal comes from the Latin “limen” meaning threshold. A cross over space – a time between the “what was” and the “what’s to come”.  A place of transition from late fall to winter.

My personal experience with liminal space is my ongoing transition into Elderhood. The state of “Elderhood” being my hoped for condition awaiting me in my advancing winter years. My understanding of Elderhood is a period graced with the virtues of age and experience. It is not a destination but a journey.

We have a troubled cultural model of aging which sees it as a time of diminishment and often a burden. But what can make the transformation of aging so anguishing isn’t necessarily the loss of beauty or ability – it can be the loss of identity and purpose. Words such as “old”, “older”, “senior”, “aged” have never seemed to adequately capture this special later stage in the life cycle. This liminal space offers possibility with an opportunity of Elderhood for reflection, contemplation, and the creation of space for renewal. Elderhood is not a label – it is a curated life of curiosity where we reach into the wise and grateful part of being and have the ability to express these knowings.

My transition towards Elderhood formally began when I left my career at 73 years. I am grateful for the decades dedicated to the building and operation of residences for people requiring assisted living and/or memory care. Over this time, I likely met with over 10,000 families who were considering relocation to acquire support for a family member. As we age we become increasingly individual. No two people, even those married for many years, experience situations in the same way. They may have different recollections on both minor and major events. Individuality aside; however, there were usually some common indicators such as a feeling of being “stuck” in time. Whether it was loss of family responsibilities or retirement from a loved career, the “next step” or transition wasn’t apparent. This individuality of experience shapes us and it also makes transition from established societal norms especially difficult for many. Distractions and activities can fill time but we each must write our own guiding manual into our later years.

I realized that I would require a significant “re-set” in my transition. I also had faith in process - being open to new outcomes but not attached to any specific outcome. With this very general framework I returned to university and completed a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in four years and continued on to graduate with a MFA (Master of Fine Arts) by age 79. I chose fine arts as the vehicle for my pilgrimage as it offered alternative ways of seeing compared to the rigid perimeters of the corporate world. It offered me opportunities to explore, fail, explore again. “Failure” was considered a necessary step in the creation process. I learned how to play and not be so serious about results. It was fresh air.

The camera became my medium and a divining rod for contemplative photography as I researched ecology, and theories supporting the interconnection of all species. Vastly different from the dominant Western economic principles governing the corporate world, here I found hope in discovering the mysterious ways of a world which had only been on my periphery. Most important, it showed how we are all part of this vast interconnection and where our responsibility as stewards rests.

I was grateful to artist Katie Ohe, a founder of the Kiyooka Ohe Arts Centre (KOAC) in Springbank, for permission to centre my research site on the uncultivated 10 acres of the sculpture park. Over two years I walked these woods developing a contemplate practice through developing our senses. Others participated in these research studies and shared their experiences which culminated into a video and guide book which is included on the KOAC website under my name as an Artist in Residence.

My woodland walks – in all seasons – included bringing a small folding stool and just sitting. Not looking for the perfect photograph. Being open to sight, sound, feeling, taste, to widen my experience and discover reciprocity with the plants that seemed to speak out to me. Here Henry David Thoreau’s words, “Live in each season as it passes. Breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each …” came to have significant meaning. Yes, to everything there is a season, and all things are transient and impermanent. At 80 years, my season is winter.

We are usually joyful with the rebirth of spring and the bounty of summer but these times in the woods provided me with a feeling of calm and peace in the fall and winter months – a broader liminal time for quiet reflection and appreciation for the fruitful life I have been given. Thoreau worked to keep the story of the cyclical nature of time and the seasons alive as the culture around him became enamored with time as a straight line. Acknowledging the seasons – the cycle of life – has brought a deeper awareness of my place in this ecosystem and gently leads me into the potential of Elderhood.

Resources

Gail Hinchliffe, BFA, MFA '24.  Building Relationship with the Land: A Contemplative Practice Awakening the Senses. 

Gail Hinchliffe, BFA, MFA '24. Exploration Guide.

Author

Maureen Osis retired from her career -- first as a Gerontological Nurse and then a Marriage/Family Therapist in private practice working with mid-life and older adults. Maureen has published numerous articles and books, related to her professions. She is a member of CALL because she is passionate about learning. She is a volunteer with CALL, doing social media and the primary author of the blog, because she likes to face new challenges.

Guest Author

Gail Hinchliffe has lived for close to eight decades in Alberta and has a continued love of open grasslands. Her undergraduate studies began with Brome Grass. This plant was introduced to the Western prairies in the late 1800s when her grandparents immigrated to central Alberta as farmers. Originally introduced as an agriculture grain, the grass quickly spread on its own throughout the prairies. It is particularly prevalent in areas where the ground has been disrupted and serves to prevent soil erosion, such as on riverbanks. Brome Grass has become a metaphor for the unintended consequences of human impact on the Land.

Concluding an extensive career in development, ownership, and operation of assisted living and memory care residences in Alberta, Gail embarked on a new journey in her early 70s. Wishing to see the world and her place in it through a new lens she graduated with a BFA (distinction) from the Alberta University of the Arts in 2022. This enlightened her to new ways of knowing influenced by Indigenous studies and ecological economics. Graduating with her MFA in 2024 from the University of Calgary, her research focused on building relationship with the Land from a settler perspective.

As an urban dweller with settler roots, she understood her disconnection with the Land and recognized the desire to building a relationship with the Land to develop another way of knowing in the spirts of humility and reciprocity.

Gail is an active member of several art collectives which center on building relationship with the Land and experience of place. Her chosen medium is photography – both digital and analog.

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Gail Hinchliffe, with her print for the Exposure Festival, 2025

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