Jul 23, 2008
GEEZERS DOING GOOD
Geezer health is a subject rarely mentioned in carrying on after retirement. I’ve had a number of eye problems, including glaucoma, that have made me more cautious about what tasks I want to take on. Sorting the things I can’t our shouldn’t do from those that are practical is a sad but necessary process. I will never again build my own home, but I can design it and instruct some young builder on how it should go together. I’ll never spend another 2 or 3 years in up-country Africa, but I can work in an urban center like Nairobi. I suppose dodderdom is that point where the things you can’t do outweigh those that you can do. Success in dodderdom is keeping an eye open to possibilities that fit the limitations.
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Bloom where you're planted!
There was a cutsy cartoon by Mary Engelbriet a few years ago with little flowers etc and the saying "Bloom Where you’re Planted". Many of us who have retired and are looking for Encore careers have found that what we might want to do is limited by where we are geographical, physical and economical factors. So we need to do what we can with what we have, where we are at this time in space.
So yes, Jay and Bill, you have the found the real truth—to bloom where (and how) you are planted. I am using all my skills and experience in a couple of volunteer roles where I am planted. Good luck with blooming.
This is my desktop. http://www.maryengelbreit.com/FreeFromME/DesktopBackgrounds/Bloom.aspx
Great Article, Jay...
Jay, I am thrilled to be introduced to you via your article. It spoke to me in many differing ways, as my life has taken a turn in the past five years that was unpredictable. As unpredictable as your eye problems. Each turning point, changing our lives, forever.
Now it is a time for turning what appears to be a devastation into a delicate ‘encore’ as a productive, gifted, human being who is at a place in his life that needs transformation. I enjoyed reading how you may not be able to build, anymore but you can certainly design and teach a younger person to carry the weighty load. And, how you may not be able to live in upper Africa, yet you can be productive and vibrant in an urban setting like Nairobi.
Really excellent, Jay! We aren’t done yet…
I would like to invite you to read my profile, although done in a hurry, yesterday afternoon, you will get a sense of who I am and what I am looking to achieve with the second half of my life in service.
Thanks so much for the uplift today.
A. James Hillelson (Jim)