Rites Of Passage?

I attended a rite of passage last week, a baptism, and it set me to thinking about transitions and rites of passage. Many are associated with the passage from one phase of life into the next. In Catholicism, baptism serves as a rite of passage—the entry into membership in the church. Confirmation and the Last Rites mark a passage into adulthood, and the passage out of this life, respectively. For each religion, there appear to be comparable events—bar mitzvahs, for example. But rites of passage are not limited to religious observations.

In college, there was hazing of new freshmen, the school I attended discontinued "Freshmen Week" the year before I arrived. I am not making this up, among other indignities; freshmen were required to wear beanies of some offensive color. Fraternities and sororities have (or had, depending on who you talk to) devoted many hours to pledging, which included a rigorous period of assorted trials, including the practice of hazing. I am told that basic and infantry training in the military use the outside pressure exerted by a drill sergeant to build unit cohesion. These latter examples represent initiation into a group. The relative difficulty of obtaining actual passage is somehow said to represent the exclusivity of the organization, and thus, the prestige that comes with belonging. Did these rites of passage make the process of transition easier or more meaningful?

Later in life, things like initiation were replaced by plain old money. Golf clubs, country clubs and more fit this latter category. Social clubs will usually have periodic dues, then a small initiation fee. But the emotional ties forged in group hazing seemed to exert a cohesive force on participants that money cannot replace.

But are there still rites of passage in the stages of life for individuals after they have entered adulthood? People joke about the so-called mid-life crisis, but are there ritual events that are associated with entering middle age? For those who bore their children while in their 20's, empty-nest syndrome coincides with entry into middle age. The term "mid-life crisis" was coined in 1965 by a Canadian psychotherapist named Elliott Jaques, and it referred to the realization of one's own mortality and the notion that one's life was more than half over. While the term enjoyed some popularity as an explanation for unusual responses to changes later in adulthood, psychological research had concluded by the 1980's that fewer than 10 percent of adults experienced one. It is said that men begin to question their lives based on career success (or failure) and relative satisfaction with the rewards thereof, while women do so on the basis of their relationships, and the quality thereof. But beyond the apocryphal stories about men suddenly buying a red sports car or the woman suddenly seeking out designer clothes intended for a much younger person, there seem to be no rites of passage. In fact, given the low incidence of "crisis" in most adults, those stories are more fun in fiction than in real life. My sense is that many adults go through a period of reflection and growth that sometimes will lead them to make changes in their lives without a crisis.

On the crest of another life transition—the ending of a career and the beginning of "I-don't-know-what"—I am wondering if this latest time of self-realization and growth could benefit from some rites of passage? How about a trip around the world, or the country? Or maybe a year of study abroad (like some college students have). Or, more realistically, a year spent exploring a path not taken, until now—any path?

I'll go get my beanie.