Wisdom - and altruism - come with age By Roberta Ness Feb. 6, 2017 More Comments Print 3

1 of 3 A view inside the Rothko Chapel. 2 of 3 A moment of reflection during a visit to Rothko Chapel led to a greater understanding of how we can shed our egos as we age. Photo: Molly Glentzer 3 of 3 Dr. Roberta Ness, was presented with the John Snow Award from the Epidemiology Section of the American Public Health Association at a recent annual meeting in San Francisco. Photo: Courtesy photo

When I want a spiritual adventure, I visit the Rothko Chapel, a trek I embarked upon recently.

I had never before noticed something that this time captured my imagination - a bench in a room just outside the sanctuary holding key books from each of the world's leading religions. Here one finds the Bhagavad Gita, the New Testament, the Torah, Tao Ta Ching, among others. Curious about the similarities between these four, I recently read them all.

Religions near and far turn out to have many commonalities - one of which is the concept that "pride goes before the fall." Ego, they teach, occupies a central place as the root of many problems for us as individuals and for humans as a whole. If we can shed our egos, religions agree, we will experience less suffering, more peace and happiness and the path to a better world.

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Aging, as it turns out, may gift us with a common pathway to shedding our egos. Research shows that older people are less focused on money, power and prestige and more focused on finding connections through love and service.

On the whole, as we age, we turn from a desire to focus on productivity and to a desire to spend time with family and friends. We become more altruistic (e.g., volunteering our time) and philanthropic.