2006-4-16 02:41:00
When a person reaches the high point of advancement in his life and can go no further a state of crystallization sets in. He has mastered his branch of endeavor and becomes mentally lazy and is satisfied to be the expert in his field or proficient at a trade and just does not feel the impetus to start any new learning venture outside of his specialty. Usually he only has minimal learning in his own narrow field of interests. He reaches a point of stagnation and stays there for the rest of his life and must wait until he is put in a new challenging situation in a future life to make further progress. This crystallization does not have to set in and it doesn't happen in every case. Most of its seeds are sown by the time a man is thirty or earlier. The seeds are as follows:
If a person does not make a conscious effort to correct the trend to stagnation he will then crystallize in his early fifties and no power on earth can then teach this old dog new tricks. He may be very proficient and distinguished in his field, but his progression for this life is at that point at a halt and unfortunately he cannot seem to muster enough reason to see his situation clearly.
The first 28-30 years is like a mini-life. If one has have solved his problems and learned needed lessons then the next 28 will be like a new birth or like a second life. If the needed lessons are not learned, then the second 28-year period will bring one face to face with the same problems he had in the first twenty-eight. If the pilgrim ignores the solving of these problems he will just coast along the line of least resistance and become crystallized by the second cycle. He is also likely to suffer ill health.
When the person rests on his laurels and relaxes and takes it easy as far as progress and learning is concerned he is likely to crystallize in his early fifties. The signs of stagnation always appear earlier, but they are reversible in the first half of life, but almost irreversible in the second half.
To understand crystallization, think of raw honey when no heat is applied to it. Crystals begin to form and it will no longer freely pour and gets too hard and brittle to be usable.
This is what happens to one who passes the age of 30, gets comfortable with his vocation, his education and his belief system. He rests upon his past learning and no longer tackles new projects - no longer challenges himself. Without heat and movement his life essence becomes like honey and resists motion and becomes hard and immovable.
So what happens when a person does crystallize? All the good he does do is through automatic pilot which enables him to get some work done through the benefit of past learning, but his progression toward change and the new will be over for his life cycle.
How do you tell if a person has crystallized?
It is not always obvious, for many crystallized people are fairly intelligent and accomplished. The attitude of older people toward computers is a possible sign. The other day I saw an interview of an older, but famous and accomplished writer. In the interview he was almost bragging about the fact that he does not like to use computers, but prefers to write longhand. For an older person to be afraid to learn about computers, which are an essential part of this, is a sign that new learning is shut down and crystallization has set in. He may still accomplish a few things but it will be done on his old paradigm and will contain no new ideas or concepts.
How do we avoid crystallization? It is done through the force of Will. One must make new decisions and follow them through or continue to work toward objectives not yet accomplished. This is not too difficult before the age of thirty. To accomplish this in older age one must have some reasonable and renewed ambition. Many in the second half of life are tired of struggle and just want to relax. To overcome crystallization one cannot relax and retire from ambition and thought and this takes an act of Will. Then to continue to progress in old age in their seventies and beyond takes a still greater act of Will.
Having said this let me leave you with this thought. Let us continually ask ourselves this question. Am I resting upon my past learning and abilities or am I pushing myself to always learn more and acquire new abilities?
For all of us there will come a time that we will feel like letting our guard down and just relaxing for the rest of our lives. Periods of rest are beneficial, but we must never let ourselves give up on progression, even to the end of our lives.
"Kids, they're not easy, but there has to be some penalty for sex."
-- Bill Maher
Copyright © 2006 by J.J. Dewey, All Rights Reserved