Navigating the Terrain from First to Second Adulthood with Baz Hartnell & Sue Holland

Fri, 14th December, 2018 from 9:00 AM, in Awliscombe

Over a cuppa in Honiton, Baz and Sue were reflecting on a number of things, from memory the flow went something like this:

• How a felt experience in life can transform us without us even noticing and then, upon reflection, we somehow find ourselves in a ‘different relationship with our felt experience’
• We spoke about losing parent(s) and the power of this transformative and chaotic experience
• I recall us touching on the place that trauma plays in growth and development
• Both of us have at times dipped in and out of the work of James Hollis (and many others) to help us ‘hang our experience on’ / sense-make
• We reflected on how different we are from each other in terms of how we sense-make and develop (Baz – predominantly from a logical and theoretical perspective, and Sue – predominantly from an immersive and creative process)

This is the backdrop to our workshop in December – if any of this ramble resonates, please do read on….

Jungian analyst James Hollis describes the notion that childhood lasts until our teenage years, the first adulthood begins until fortyish, and the second adulthood (if a person chooses to engage with it) from fortyish to old age. He maintains that many people never pass from childhood to adulthood developmentally, attached to some behaviours which do not serve us as adults and thus we play out ‘being overgrown children’! He also points out that others never pass from the first adulthood into the second and thus would argue, have unlived lives. This is of course just a point of view; however, both Sue and I observe in our developmental work with people, there seems to be some truth in it – let’s explore!

The passage from first to second adult hood presents us with the opportunity to re-examine our lives and to ask, “Who am I apart from my history and the roles I have played?” and “how do I renegotiate, where appropriate, what was given to me and which no longer serves me?” It is an occasion for redefining and reorienting the personality, a rite of passage between the extended adolescence of the first adulthood and our inevitable appointment with old age and mortality.

Sue Holland and Baz Hartnell will rekindle their double act last seen at Sadler Heath seven years ago, and although they are far too young to have experienced this phenomenon! they will be taking an emergent and somewhat irreverent look at this first to second adulthood transition to examine issues such as:

• What changes herald the transition into second adult hood and can we choose it?
• Why do so many people go through so much disruption in this transition?
• How do we revise our sense of self & yet somehow stay the same?
• What’s the right age to buy a sports car (or a wood)?

Ying will meet Yang, with Baz taking the thinking perspective on this, whilst Sue will bring a more immersive and creative perspective. Participants may be none the wiser for attending and it could be a complete waste of a morning better spent Christmas shopping, but for those who participate we hope to provide you with a sense of the landscape and help you find your own map to navigate this terrain.