Mystical Maturity
I recently saw a documentary on aging. In one scene the elderly were spending days at a model senior center. They were not doing much; playing cards, eating bad food, getting help having their laundry done. Way better to belong to a community than not, but it felt like they were marking time. What a waste of genius.
Imagine instead that upon retirement, the custom was to pursue correction of your biggest regret. What if you were expected to create the life you wish you had, but somehow couldn’t? There are people who do this they seem so much more vibrant than others.
Reframe the failure to a missed opportunity.
My grandparents did it! My grandmother always wanted to be an artist, and when she retired she trained quite intensely in art. My grandfather longed for days outdoors and traded his auto company job for a life of growing his own food, hunting and fishing, and training future farmers.
My friend Diane had an antique dealer side gig. When she could retire financially, she had total fun bringing buyers and sellers together.
Check out actor John Nettles who left the Midsomer Murders show and now rescues donkeys and writes World War history.
Google Jimmy Carter’s retirement time spent building houses.
I recommend, for aging, that we pursue the love we we didn’t know how to pursue before and above all, create something new.
To create change, most of us have been taught problem solving all our lives, which is a great skill for problems, but isn’t so great for making something new and exciting.
Mostly we react or respond to circumstances. We compromise, through much of our lives, to get along. We must do this activity. Follow that procedure. Attend this event with those people. It’s not bad, but it’s not all there is either.
When you seek to create your experience, problem solving skills won’t do it. I suppose you could solve the problem of your retirement, but is that what you want? You could solve every one of your problems and still not create what you truly wanted.
When it comes to creating a next chapter of life that you could really love, don’t look outside for direction. The answer is in your inner wisdom.
When moving to the next stage in life, I urge you to be true to yourself and create. Create what you really love, because you love it. It’s not too late to be an actor, an artist, a travel photographer or carpenter. And you may no longer have to make a living at it. You don’t have to explain it to your parents. And you don’t have to write your screen play only on the weekends.
Haven’t you ever wondered, if retirement must be babysitting or Arizona? What if you don’t like babysitting or hot weather? What if you left Arizona to train for the Iditarod?
Creating what you love results in a more authentic and lasting outcome. It comes from you and your loves. Reaction tends to come from what you don't like.
Learning to create what you really want for yourself brings a success that satisfies and nourishes you in the long run regardless of the outcome and even when circumstances change.
Your creations are deeply motivating even when they are difficult, just as your children or beloved pets hold your interest and concern even when they are being difficult.
Life is engaging when you pursue a creation you love. It’s enjoyable to think about, talk about, learn about and be about. Our creator is said to have worked six days out of seven.
Creation is a divine quality.
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