Caregiving and our inner elder: insights from a spiritual master

Dutch Priest Henri Nouwen, who died in 1996, has a large following of devoted readers. Though not formally a gerontologist, he wrote one small book Aging: the Fulfillment of Life, full of remarkable insights into the meaning of growing old. Two approaches to caring for older people have special resonance. First, a person must appropriate his or her own aging, coming to grips with one's aging self. Secondly, one must allow the old person to enter into one's own life. Incorporating these two principles into service of elders gives it a spiritual value that goes beyond merely routine contact.