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This essay develops an understanding of how attachment to place and how physical, virtual and symbolic places can nurture or constrain a person’s will to carry on and find meaning. The nursing home is presented as an illustration of a physical place and the online gaming world represents a virtual place. Young and old share stories of how the symbolic meaning of place or memories of place can nurture hope and meaning. The stories also show how their attachment to place can result in a constricted understanding of who they are. Memories of vitality and envisioning themselves as strong and active create meaning and provide a welcome distraction in their everyday lives. The author mediates with the philosophies of Levinas, Tillich and Casey in order to develop an understanding of how certain places and our understanding of them can nurture or constrain a person’s will to carry on and find meaning.

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