A guy called Daniel J Levinson proposed several 'eras' of life, each lasting 20-25 years and overlapping with the previous era. So the era of childhood and youth ends in the early 20s, early adulthood lasts from around 20 to 45, late adulthood from 40 to 65, and so on. These eras are each characterised by certain qualities of living.
Due to my own age (somewhere around the transition from early to middle adulthood), I am particularly interested in the transition that is thought to take place in one's mid-40s. It is thought that one of the key factors nudging someone across this transition is the experience of relating to people who, in their early 20s are a whole generation younger. This experience compels a change of identity, making the person in his or her 40s realise that he or she can no longer be considered a member of the 'younger generation'.
This may seem obvious, but I found it quite profound, probably because I recognise in myself this very dynamic. It has been accentuated by the fact that the church we've recently hooked up with is young - mostly people in their 20s. I'm feeling different about myself in this environment and I'm finding myself having to approach relationships with these people from in a way that feels new. In fact, I've found myself mostly drawn to those slightly older couples (ie 30s) who have children.
I came across Levinson's ideas in a book by John Hull: What prevents Christian adults from learning? First published in 1985, I don't think it's in print any more, but if you can get a used copy of Amazon it's well worth a read. It's an academic style text, is pretty heavy in parts, but contains some real gems that make a lot of sense. In fact, look out for Mr Hull's writings in a future blog.
