This finding has reversed previous thinking on this subject, and represents a monumental change in our understanding and belief systems. It is apparent that bio- logical development never ceases while one lives, and this is vital to our understanding of the aging process. The question, of course, is how one guides and chooses to ride this unbroken mandate for growth and development.
Life is an opportunity.
It is an opportunity where we can make ourselves and make the world through our individual efforts. It's up to each of us. It's not as simple as that, but that's the core of it. Erikson mentions that, if one chooses to grow, one reaches a state of consciousness, usually in later life, but not necessarily so. In realizing this, one wishes to give back to society all that one has received in the way of experience and wisdom.