A few days ago there was an article by David Brooks in the International Herald Tribune talking about what it means to mature, starting with the example of Lincoln and the model during his time that to be mature was to exercise self-control. A sin-centric model that changed over time to a model that emphasized our inner goodness, placing self-discovery as the goal of growing up. Now, according to Brooks, we are moving into a maturity defined by service - maturity as moving from being served to serving others.
I read this article to a group of students at my formal meal, and it was a really fascinating conversation. People described maturity as being accountable and responsible, cultivating virtues. We also talked about maturing requiring an end goal, and that goal must be virtuous, even if not explicitly Christian. We also talked about the external cultural markers of maturity (rituals or rites of passage), and some of the ramifications of having few if any of them in modern Western culture. Very cool stuff - we spend so much time talking about identity, but it seems as though very rarely we talk about maturity.
I'd be curious to hear anyone else's thoughts on it...
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