What is a Life Cycle?
In formal way we can say life cycle is "the series of changes in the life of an organism including reproduction."
Definition of a Life Cycle
Can you imagine if We humans were born as full grown adults ? What happens then ?
Thankfully, we are born as infants and slowly go through stages before reaching adulthood. These stages are called a life cycle. A life cycle is defined as the developmental stages that occur during an organism's lifetime. A life cycle ends when an organism dies.
In general, plants and animals go through three basic stages in their life cycles, starting as a fertilized egg or seed, developing into an immature juvenile, and then finally transforming into an adult. During the adult stage, an organism will reproduce, giving rise to the next generation.
A life cycle can be comprised of more than the three basic stages depending on the species. For example, the human life cycle is comprised of 5 main stages. The names of each stage can also vary slightly depending on the species. For example, an immature juvenile dragonfly is called a nymph.
The time an organism spends at each stage can differ. For example, one species of cicada can spend 17 years as an immature nymph. That is about the age we are when we graduate high school! Then once the cicada reaches adulthood, it only lives about 24 hours before it dies. Other organisms spend more time as adults. For example, elephants reach maturity after 15 years and then spend over 30 years as an adult.
Stages of the Human Life Cycle
As I discus before the human life cycle can be comprised of 5 main stages. But it could be formed in twelve separated stages.
- Pre-birth: Potential – The child who has not yet been born could become anything – a Michaelangelo, a Shakespeare, a Martin Luther King – and thus holds for all of humanity the principle of what we all may yet become in our lives.
- Birth: Hope – When a child is born, it instills in its parents and other caregivers a sense of optimism; a sense that this new life may bring something new and special into the world. Hence, the newborn represents the sense of hope that we all nourish inside of ourselves to make the world a better place.
- Infancy (Ages 0-3): Vitality – The infant is a vibrant and seemingly unlimited source of energy. Babies thus represent the inner dynamo of humanity, ever fueling the fires of the human life cycle with new channels of psychic power.
- Early Childhood (Ages 3-6): Playfulness – When young children play, they recreate the world anew. They take what is and combine it with the what is possible to fashion events that have never been seen before in the history of the world. As such, they embody the principle of innovation and transformation that underlies every single creative act that has occurred in the course of civilization.
- Middle Childhood (Ages 6-8): Imagination – In middle childhood, the sense of an inner subjective self develops for the first time, and this self is alive with images taken in from the outer world, and brought up from the depths of the unconscious. This imagination serves as a source of creative inspiration in later life for artists, writers, scientists, and anyone else who finds their days and nights enriched for having nurtured a deep inner life.
- Late Childhood (Ages 9-11): Ingenuity – Older children have acquired a wide range of social and technical skills that enable them to come up with marvelous strategies and inventive solutions for dealing with the increasing pressures that society places on them. This principle of ingenuity lives on in that part of ourselves that ever seeks new ways to solve practical problems and cope with everyday responsibilities.
- Adolescence (Ages 12-20): Passion – The biological event of puberty unleashes a powerful set of changes in the adolescent body that reflect themselves in a teenager’s sexual, emotional, cultural, and/or spiritual passion. Adolescence passion thus represents a significant touchstone for anyone who is seeking to reconnect with their deepest inner zeal for life.
- Early Adulthood (Ages 20-35): Enterprise – It takes enterprise for young adults to accomplish their many responsibilities, including finding a home and mate, establishing a family or circle of friends, and/or getting a good job. This principle of enterprise thus serves us at any stage of life when we need to go out into the world and make our mark.
- Midlife (Ages 35-50): Contemplation – After many years in young adulthood of following society’s scripts for creating a life, people in midlife often take a break from worldly responsibilities to reflect upon the deeper meaning of their lives, the better to forge ahead with new understanding. This element of contemplation represents an important resource that we can all draw upon to deepen and enrich our lives at any age.
- Mature Adulthood (Ages 50-80): Benevolence – Those in mature adulthood have raised families, established themselves in their work life, and become contributors to the betterment of society through volunteerism, mentor ships, and other forms of philanthropy. All of humanity benefits from their benevolence. Moreover, we all can learn from their example to give more of ourselves to others.
- Late Adulthood (Age 80+): Wisdom – Those with long lives have acquired a rich repository of experiences that they can use to help guide others. Elders thus represent the source of wisdom that exists in each of us, helping us to avoid the mistakes of the past while reaping the benefits of life’s lessons.
- Death & Dying: Life – Those in our lives who are dying, or who have died, teach us about the value of living. They remind us not to take our lives for granted, but to live each moment of life to its fullest, and to remember that our own small lives form of a part of a greater whole.
Life Spans Vary
Life Spans vary Species to Species.A life span is the time it takes for an organism to complete its life cycle.
Did you know there are ancient trees that are thousands of years old? Bristle cone pine trees have a life span reaching over 4,000 years.
As we can see human live is only 70-80 years.
Some life spans are short for example, like a variety of bees only live for 4 to 5 weeks.
Some Species can live only few hours life.
We get only one life a very short period. Don't waste your time, don't waste your full life. Do something for your own and for rest of the world. Make the world as a better place for you and me. For every body. For every Animal. For Every Species.