A writer lives on the frontier between the creative energy of inner life and the confluence of situations in the outer world. Sometimes a writer obtains a glimpse into realms of experience that, once revealed, offer no hope of retreat. To be a writer is to abandon the usual, comfortable, and familiar ways of knowing to lean into the mystery that, once encountered, never leaves us alone for the rest of our days.
Good writing helps to clarify one’s true path in life, reveal new dimensions of living that were previously hidden, promote wellbeing, and to say something that is personal and universal at the same time. In this sense, writing has the potential to inspire a shared sense of meaning and conjure a momentary place of belonging inhabited by the writer and reader.
The Frontiers of Experience is a weblog focused on exploring the possibilities, challenges, and vagaries of that foreboding terrain called, “the second half of life.” It is a search for insights that provide the foundation for establishing a practical and useful philosophy for living. In a simple sense, this work may appeal to those of us who are 50-years-old plus. However, the second half of life is not just a chronological divide; it is also a depth concept. The second half of life symbolizes the innate desire to permeate the experience of being alive with a deeper and more vital sense of meaning, purpose, and interaction.
Brian Alger writes on the threshold between periods of relative calm and the volatility of transformative experiences that become crucial moments in our life course. The underlying ground of his work are his own subjective experiences learning how to navigate the second half of his life. He believes that the essential purpose of creativity is to broaden and expand the experience of being alive. Writing on the frontiers that emerge in the second half of life is always an effort to balance light and dark, positive and negative, stability and turbulence, and joy and hardship in the hope of finding something meaningful to hold on to.
Brian writes from the perspective of someone who, nearing age 60, is interested in embracing the second half of life as an opportunity to broaden and expand the experience of being alive. He believes that, at its core, life is a privilege. Each article is a brief foray into something of interest arising from his temporal entanglement within the second half of life. However, seeking a more vital sense of identity, meaning, and purpose in life is not limited to those of us who are 50 plus; this is a website for creative people of any age willing to undertake the risk of creating a useful and practical philosophy for living that is good for self, others, and the world at the same time.
