Baby Boomers Dance OnwardMany Baby Boomers are launching or have launched new careers. Retirement?Retirement? Don't need no stinking retirement!While I know many of my fellow Baby Boomers that have bone fide retired in the classic 1950's sense, most have moved on to second, third, or greater, careers. Often these careers are things they have always wanted to do. Many times these involve humanitarian, volunteer, and helping others. We also incorporate more play and tend to be more relaxed about our endeavors. From my old high school, Permian High School, there is Gary the banker who retired and took up rebuilding old ranches. There is Gail the retired teacher who now is deeply involved in voluntary church-related work and thinking of writing her first book. EnduranceMany of us find ourselves in our 60's in good health and still able to do many of the things we could do in our 30's and 40's. Maybe a few more aches and pains, maybe a little slower or with less endurance, but still hanging in there.I find I get tired a lot sooner than I used to. But just recently added back in a daily jog/walk to my exercise regime. I do a lot of farm related work, fencing, lifting 40 lbs bails of hay and 50 lbs of feed and fertilizer, cutting wood, etc., but don't get enough consistent aerobic exercise in. As I've aged my blood pressure has started climbing into the hypertension range. Kicking up my aerobic exercise along with paying closer attention to my diet, helps control it. And, when I quit hurting after a jog, I do feel better. Sex and CuddlingAnd sex is still good. I just don't have the endurance I did in my 20's--not to mention refractory or recovery time. I like cuddling a lot more now. Sort of a male menopause...Male MenopauseIn my personal experience this is real. I am still interested in sex, i.e. my libido is still strong, it is much reduced from when I was a young man--thank God. However, sex no longer runs across my mind so frequently as is the reported male persuasion. My Shadow, the Bandido, still occasional chimes in about a good looking woman. I am not dead yet.Life StagesGail Sheehy in her book, New Passages: Mapping Your Life Across Time (G K Hall Large Print Book Series) , talks about
the 60's (age, not 1960's years) as the Serene Sixties. During this
decade we focus on a second adulthood, on becoming more authentic and
real (two of my favorite), on harmony and balance in our lives, and on
reconciliations.ReconciliationsSpeaking of this, as I discuss on my The Closet webpage/story, in my life there is a growing need for reconciliation--to make peace with old wounds. In this case, this situation was so deeply buried in my unconscious, I did not know it was there.We all have such closets. In our 60's there is a call for cleaning out our old closets. These are closets of old hurts and pain--both those done by us to others and those done by others to us. The words of the Lord's Prayer come to mind: "forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us". Spiritual DimensionsMany of us as we look Westward toward sunset, begin to re-evaluate and go deeper into our spirituality in our 60's. In Margaret Guenther's,Toward Holy Ground: Spiritual Directions for the Second Half of Life , we undertake
tasks to lead us deeper into our faith. Although directed very much
toward the maternal, she has a lot of good stuff for us with XY
chromosomes. We develop a tolerance for ambiguity, start making peace
with our limitations and mortality, seek to simplify our lives, and
become more disciplined in our spiritual practices as fulfillment
becomes more important to us. She is director of the Center for
Christian Spirituality of the General Theological Seminary in NY city.Toward a Second CareerSara Lawrence-Lightfoot, PhD, at Harvard University has recently published the results of her studies on post-50 aged adults and the many changes and second careers they choose. An interesting read. Her book,The Third Chapter: Passion, Risk, and Adventure in the 25 Years After 50 talks about the 25 years after 50. |
 Custom Search
|
||
Dr. Y "Thinks" IndexChrist--who was he?Strange Piece of Ass Syndrome Christian heresies Baby boomers are dancing on... e A Wild Ride Dannion Brinkley Circumcision Why Vision Quest? Vision Quest 1998 Enlightenment on a Harley God, faith and the Recession Breakfast Blessing The Closet God as my GPS God as my GPS Descartes and Christianity Health Care Reform and Christianity
Custom Search
|
