【Ifyouweregivenachancetochooseyourfavoritelifemetaphor(比喻)whatwoulditbe?DoyouagreewithForrestGump’smotherthatlifeis“aboxofchocolates”because“youneverknowwhatyou’】

　　Ifyouweregivenachancetochooseyourfavoritelifemetaphor(比喻)whatwoulditbe?DoyouagreewithForrestGump’smotherthatlifeis“aboxofchocolates”because“youneverknowwhatyou’regoingtoget”?Ordoyoupreferthephrasefromthe1930’ssongthat“lifeisjustabowlofcherries(樱桃)”?Thoughsimplystatedeachconveysaverydifferentview.A“box”impliesmysterybecausewedon’tknowwhatisinaclosedbox.Meanwhilea“bowl”ofcherriesiscompletelyinview.

　　Formanycenturiesthemetaphoroflifethatprobablyburstintomostpeople’smindwastheonesuggestedbyShakespeare:“Alloflifeisastage…”Onthatstagewetakesevenroles.MorerecentlypsychologistErikEriksontookuptheideaoflifeasastage.Eriksonregardeddevelopmentasa“powerfulunfolding”inwhichwearedrivenfromonestagetothenextasourbodiesmindsandsocialrolesdevelop.

　　Stagemetaphorsfitwithmanyofourcommon-senseideasaboutchangebuttheproblemwiththestagemetaphoristhatitisn’tparticularlyaccurate.Noneofthestudiesthattrytoclarifytheuniversalityofadultlifestagesactuallystudiedpeopleastheydevelopedovertime.Allofthemwerebasedonperformancesoftheirsamples(样本)atonepointintime.People’sactuallivesdon’tfitintothesestagemetaphors.Theydon’tautomaticallytransformwhenpeoplereachacertainage.Insteadpeople’sreallivesaremessyunpredictableandfullofsurprises.

　　TodayI’dliketofocusonanevenlongerstudyan80-yearstudywhichisthesubjectofarecentbookbyHowardFriedmanandLeslieMartin.Theirfinalchaptersummarizesthe“manychangesofhealthyandunhealthypathways”thattheirparticipantstookoverthecourseoftheirlives.AsItoodiscoveredinmyresearchthepathwayprovidesaperfectmetaphorofhumandevelopment.Wedon’tallgodownthesameroadmarkedwiththesamesignpostsbasedonage.Peopletravelthroughdiverseroutesastheytracktheyearsofadulthood.FriedmanandMartinusehealthandlonglifeastheirmeasure;I’veusedsenseofachievement.Inbothcasesweareinperfectagreementinevaluatingdevelopmentnotaccordingtoagebut“thekeyfeaturesoflife”.

　　ThepathsthatFriedmanandMartindescribeseizethechangesthatcharacterizepeopleastheyage.Someexamplesare“TheHighRoad”(reliabl