Why write this blog?

I used to think that only retired people were concerned with what makes life meaningful.

I was wrong!

I dedicate this blog to all of us who are tired of being told by others what living is about and how to live

NOW:

I have just dried out from workaholism (covid lockdown helped). It was tricky because overworking was bound up with the drive to make life for others better in some way. And sometimes I did, being instrumental in bringing food to those who needed it; tackling the myths that old people are useless; that the arts are a frill; and that having lots of things is the key to happiness.

I plan to explore at what makes people feel desperate or angry enough to want to hurt themselves and others; examine white privilege (still in process); witness the loneliness that afflicts our essentially relational species. And explore the creativity which is in all of us and manifests in a million different ways – even if we don’t believe that we are creative.

So although this blog used to be about what I wrote below – I’ve moved into living the process of finding meaning and purpose. Your ideas and experiences are welcome!

Cheers

THEN:

1. To hold a conversation about how WE want to age and what needs to be different.

2. To look at the life changes when we retire and the choices we have. 

3. To discover how people make retirement meaningful, share inspiring examples.

The largest group in history has turned 65 and when we look back at previous generations, we see the circumstances have changed, socially, politically and personally. My life and vision of aging is very different from my mother’s. This seems a good time for a blog that considers aging styles for individuals who find themselves amidst the “Cult of Youth” in America.

I learned from my experience that we can turn vision into reality.

The earlier posts on my professional involvement in the field of Aging will be kept because they may provoke ideas and provide useful information. Some of the issues I attempted to address in the past 40 years continue to face us in this time of pandemic. They include: social isolation, feelings of pointlessness, regret for interests that were sidelined, feelings of helplessness, different kinds of scarcity, how to share skills and experience and so on.

 

With appreciation,

Maureen