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“Wherever you turn, you can find someone who needs you.” Albert Schweitzer said that, and boy did he know.
Recently, I received an email with this subject line: “Avoid being a ‘bored boomer’ in retirement.” My reaction was recoil. Bored? Who could be bored when there’s so much to do for this hurting world? But I remember being under-involved, and blue about it, after retirement, casting about looking for my post-working-life identity, my passion, my place. At a conference I attended, author Richard Leider said, “If you have a pulse, you have a purpose.” That line has a great, bracing ring to it, but it haunted me: if you don’t know what your purpose is, do you still have one? A large proportion of retirees—with decades of life remaining—suffer from loss of identity, of meaning, of social engagement. That suffering has to end, both for the benefit of the retirees, who are vulnerable to physical and emotional diminishment from disengagement, and for benefit of the world, which sorely needs our continued efforts to make life better. Where to begin? Begin with your heart. Turn toward the hurt. In the words of poet and activist Andrew Harvey, “Identify the issues that break your heart, and take action.” Cultivate self-knowledge with books, like From Age-ing to Sage-ing, by Rabbi Zalman Schecter-Shalomi; Conscious Living, Conscious Aging, by Ron Pevny; The Aging of Aquarius, by Helen Wilkes; Aging as a Spiritual Practice, by Lewis Richmond; and others (several found here), which offer not just wisdom but meaningful exercises for discovering it within. The "Empowered Elder" workshop offered by Elders Action Network, the IONS Conscious Aging workshops, and similar group experiences can be life-changing. And it’s never too soon (or too late) to reach out to make new connections.
“Bored”? Impossible for long if you bestir yourself. Do yourself, and the world, and your family a favor. Get. Out. And. Help.
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AuthorTheresa Reid is the Executive Producer and host of "Aging for Life." Archives
January 2020
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