Someone, somewhere may have given you the distinct impression when arriving at the retirement age, it meant coming into “The Golden Age”, a time when all the striving and stressing, the trying to get ahead and make your mark on this world, all this would be over. Then you could “retire”, languishing in luxury while on perennial vacation. This was to be the time in life when all the work, including the raising of the children, would be done and it would come back to you...the pay off for a life well-lived.

For boomers, it may not have worked out exactly like that. Instead there may be sudden job loss forcing early retirement or no pension to look forward to, or living on small savings, while hoping social security comes in, just in time to supply necessary additional income. What if we don’t outlive out savings? This is a worrisome thought crossing many minds.

Health issues might also get in the way of enjoying this time in life. Sometimes ill health is age-related, perhaps an unhealthy life style finally catching up, or for no reason at all you feel your health declining.  Having pain or limitations from a once healthy body is a huge challenge. How can you get to a feeling of happiness with all your free time when you may not feel all that well?

But no matter what is dealt to us, attitude, how we think about things, can make a huge difference as we move along in age. It is best not to dwell on the losses (legitimate though they are) but rather focus on the gains. We have all heard the best thing about aging is wisdom gained through experience. Especially if we have paid attention, we may have learned some important life lessons. Certainly our coping skills increase and so we are probably better able to manage our challenges.

With age, we may see that the materialistic goals, once thought to be so important, are no longer leading us around, and instead we may choose to downsize and simplify our lives. 

We become better at relationships, having learned the value of good communication skills and how to compromise and most importantly, forgiveness.

In the retirement years before us we have much more time for recreation, maybe learning or relearning a skill or pursuing the arts and crafts we have put off, or tending to the garden. There is more time for visiting distant family and friends or going on those long held dreams of vacationing in a leisurely way. 

One of the best payoffs of getting older is we are now able to follow our own rhythm and answer only to our selves. No alarm clocks to deal with, disturbing our sleep then rushing to get dressed, put something in the belly,  deal with traffic, report into the job and spend eight or more hours doing work which may or may not please us. Freedom from all that makes getting older palpable, at least, and leads to true happiness for some. 

Our generation is forging new aging territory, very different than those who came before. Our economic base may not be as strong as it was for our parents, but we have more options when we consider how to live out the last third of our lives. By the time we reach the elder years (so much more revered and appreciated in many other cultures) we may arrive at a place of acceptance that getting “old” is just one more life transition so why not sit back and enjoy the way it is, just as it is. 

BOOMERS QUESTIONING WHAT MATTERS
by
Angelena Craig

Have you seen the bumper sticker that advises us to “Question Authority”? 

I think it is good thing to ask questions of our leaders, but I doubt it will help much bringing clarity as to why our nation is in trouble, on so many fronts. For starters, we live in a country politically divided, perhaps as never before. The constant friction within our government keeps forward motion and progress impeded.

Most people I know are feeling totally powerless to bring about change, or unification, or having any way to influence the course of our own future. 

I do recall the outrage and passion so many felt in the 60’s and early 70’s. People left the comfort of their homes and gathered in public places. There were sit-ins and marches. Changes to the system came about because we organized and spoke out about such things as the intolerable injustices toward people of color and toward women. Young people burnt their draft cards or ran away to Canada making a loud statement. Finally the unpopular and costly war in Vietnam came to an end. We, the people, spoke and thereby made a huge difference in the course of history. 

But that was another era.

Now, 2011, we just gripe to one another. We can see the results of global warming, the natural disasters coming like never before, the energy crisis, job losses, the real estate market, rising costs for health care, food and gas, unfair tax divisions, our involvement in wars we can never win, and more. So we complain. That is all it seems we can do.

There is some comic relief from all of this as we find amusement each time another of our celebrity/heroes falls from grace.  Having abused their power and their need for sexual gratification, they inevitably get caught and bring disgrace upon themselves. It makes for great gossip, but no surprise.

I recently heard the progressive radio talk show host, Thom Hartmann, interview a man who gives seminars about getting involved in local government. This activist was proud to be the second generation in a family who were taking responsibility and stepping up as leaders of their hometown.

Hartmann asked why he thought too few had any interest in local politics. His answer gave me pause as he pointed out most of us are only too happy to anesthetize ourselves with distractions. He mentioned the technology, the instant messaging keeping us busy. He also pointed out most people stay at home as much as possible, becoming addicted to the soaps, reality tv, and the talent shows.

I could relate to what he was saying for I too am guilty of using distractions to better ignore or forget what is going on, in the real world. I confess to numbing myself by playing computer scrabble or occasionally watching a reality show. If one does not put up strong resistance, it is easy to become totally involved in someone else’s life. Whether the story line is they are trying to loose weight or find their one and only mate, it feels so real.

I also admit to lately being a bit caught up in “Dancing with the Stars” and “American Idol”. Surprisingly I found I cared about who had to leave the show, who moved forward and who won the contest, week after week of watching. Although I did not go so far as to caste my vote, amazingly the figure was a record-breaking 122.4 million votes counted for the final Idol show. That is a lot of folks sitting in front of their television and caring enough to take some action in picking the winner.

What if there was a call-in show and we could vote for the issues that determine the quality of our lives? What if we really were a government for and by the people? What if, just as the majority of viewers spoke in choosing seventeen year old Scotty to be designated our “America’s Idol”, what if our voice through our vote could be caste for something that mattered? And what if after the votes were counted, we could see timely action on the part of our leaders to give us what the majority wants?

I don’t have the answers but I do care enough to question and wonder why we, the people, are not able to do more than ignore or just mutter about what is happening all around us and to us. 

When is enough, enough?