By Rina Louw, Clinical Social Worker & Jungian Sandplay Therapist
Introduction
As we move into what Jung called the afternoon of life, the rhythm of our existence begins to change. The outward striving that once defined our purpose gives way to quieter, more inward movements of the soul. Many people describe this time as a opposites — a blend of fulfillment and loss, light and shadow.
At the heart of this opposites lies hope — not the bright, ambitious hope of youth, but a deeper, wiser form that grows roots instead of wings. This essay explores the duality of hope in the afternoon of life, and how we can hold its light and shadow in our journey toward wholeness.
1. The Turning Point: From Aspiration to Acceptance
In our younger years, hope is usually directed outward. We hope for new beginnings, for achievement, love, and recognition. It is a future-oriented hope, propelled by desire and expectation.
But in the afternoon of life, the direction of hope reverses. It begins to flow inward. No longer about what we will become, it becomes about who we already are. This form of hope is quieter — not naïve, but compassionate. It carries the wisdom of experience and the humility to accept that not all dreams are meant to be fulfilled in the way we once imagined.
Jung wrote that “the first half of life is devoted to forming a healthy ego, the second half is going inward and letting go of it.” In that letting go, a different kind of hope emerges — one rooted not in ambition, but in meaning.
2. The Shadow of Hope: Illusion and Despair
Every archetype and symbol carries its shadow, and hope is no exception. In midlife, many people resist the natural inward turn, clinging instead to the promises of youth — the illusion that more success, more control, or more activity will preserve vitality.
This is the shadow of false hope — the ego’s attempt to escape change. Yet when this illusion inevitably breaks, we may face the opposite pole: despair, the sense that life’s meaning has faded.
Jung saw this crisis not as pathology, but as initiation. True hope is born only after illusion has fallen away. It is the hope that arises from the ashes of disappointment — the quiet trust that life, even in decline, holds purpose beyond achievement. In therapy and sandplay, this often reveals itself symbolically: a dying tree with deep roots, a candle still burning in the twilight, or a bridge suspended between two worlds.
3. Hope as a Bridge Between Life and Death
The afternoon of life invites us to live within paradox — to embrace both life’s fullness and its impermanence. Hope becomes a bridge between these realities. It is no longer the voice that says “things will get better,” but rather “there is meaning even here.”
In Jungian terms, this shift represents the movement of the psyche from ego-centered goals toward the Self — the inner source of wisdom and wholeness. Hope becomes transcendent, reaching beyond opposites, connecting the conscious fear of death with the soul’s deeper knowing that transformation never ends.
This is the hope of being, not becoming — the faith that our inner life continues to unfold even as the outer forms of life fade.
4. Symbols of Hope in the Afternoon of Life
Symbols help us hold what cannot be fully expressed in words. In Jungian Sandplay Therapy and expressive art, the following images often emerge when hope begins to mature:
| Symbol | Meaning in the Afternoon of Life |
|---|---|
| Candle at dusk | The fragile yet enduring light of inner hope, glowing amid endings. |
| Tree with deep roots | Growth through depth and integration rather than expansion. |
| Sunset | Beauty and peace in closure; illumination through acceptance. |
| Bridge over water | Transition from one stage of life to another — from doing to being. |
| Phoenix or butterfly | Transformation through loss; hope in rebirth. |
| Spiral | The continual inward and outward movement of psychic growth. |
These images carry the quiet message that hope never truly ends; it only changes form. As one light fades, another begins to glow within.
5. Living with Hope’s Duality
To live the duality of hope is to allow both longing and acceptance to coexist. It is to acknowledge our limitations while trusting in life’s ongoing mystery. Mature hope does not deny suffering; it accompanies it with tenderness.
It whispers, “There is still meaning here.”
It invites us to dream — not of what we might gain, but of what we can still give, understand, and reconcile.
As we deepen into this stage of life, we discover that hope itself becomes the teacher — guiding us to let go, to trust, and to see beauty in the unfinished.
Conclusion
In the afternoon of life, hope becomes the flame that illuminates the twilight. It is gentler, steadier, and more faithful than before — a hope that holds both the pain of endings and the promise of renewal.
It reminds us that meaning does not depend on time, youth, or productivity — it flows from within.
In the words of Jung:
“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”
And perhaps the privilege of the afternoon is to realize that we already are.