I’m 72 years old. Male. Gay. Retired. Caucasian American.
I've had dreams to accomplish and satisfied several of them. I have an
understanding of life and possibility that I want to share with others. Just
how is yet to be learned.
Yes, reaching my age is sobering. There are limits to life.
I cannot physically do what I used to do – walk, stand, jump, run – and all of
that for hours on end! Climbing stairs is now very unpleasant; I avoid this
activity entirely if possible. I still awake early and do a lot of ‘work’
before breakfast. Then I either do more work, or pick up a book and read until
I slip blissfully into a nap. Afterwards I might do an errand, write some more,
or eat lunch.
After lunch more reading or writing, then another nap! Being
retired has good moments! At the end of the day we watch TV – usually marathon
sessions of Netflix spooled TV series! And then to bed between 8:30 and 9 pm.
I know this doesn't sound exciting to most of you. To me it
sounds just fine!
Other things of course occupy my time. Such as AA meetings.
These gatherings are important, more so than attending a church service. Those
not in AA probably wonder why I would feel this way, or any of my fellow AA
colleagues. Here’s a little glimpse of why I think these sessions are
important.
First, the gathering is mostly of people we have come to
know. Occasionally a new person visits or joins our group. There is no formal
entry requirement. If you wish to be with us, then you are OK to do so. Second,
before the meeting gets started we catch up with each other, joke and share
moments of camaraderie rarely felt in other gatherings of friends. Here we are
pretty honest with one another. We are not in hiding or pretending to be
something we are not.
Third, we nurture each other’s honesty to set the stage for
sharing what’s on our minds. This is the business end of our gathering – to
build an environment of freedom to say what is important to the person and
unburden the inner self. Doing this builds a connection with others. We are not
alone.
Fourth, building an authentic connection with others helps
us become sober, be sober and remain so. If sobriety is well grounded in some
of the attendees, their presence helps them help others become so. This is the
primary outcome of AA and why it is so successful.
Fifth, AA fellowship is often deeper, more honest, and
heartfelt than church fellowship. I attend two of these meetings each week, and
a service meeting with teens also weekly making three AA meetings per week.
In addition I am active in my church. We attend weekly
services, often participate in seasonal extra church services during advent and
lent. I volunteer singing liturgy for the congregation, join choir duties when
possible, and help plan worship services well in advance. I read scripture
frequently as well and the pastor asks me to join in sermon related vignettes
to enlarge the sermon’s message, lesson.
In other activities, I write this blog daily, Monday through
Friday. Saturday is a ‘thought for the day’ item; Sunday I take off. The blog
is now three and a half years old and I’ve published 1200 essays so far. That
accounts for well over 700,000 words.
From this I intend to pull together a book if anyone is
interested in such content. The process of writing a book is daunting and I do
a little work on it each day.
I recently stepped away from being the managing editor of
the local paper I helped cofound seven years ago. That has freed up time and
focus for the blog and book.
A year ago I joined SCORE – the national Service Corps Of
Retired Executives. A volunteer adjunct to the Small Business Administration
(Federal Department of Commerce), our mission is to help small businesses form
or to assist small businesses grow to a higher plane of operation. Our services
are free and we mentor in small teams to enrich the small business persons
succeed. SCORE has more than 11,000 mentors who helped start thousands of small
businesses in 2014 creating over 47,000 new jobs. SCORE is now 50 years old and
one of the best kept secrets in the business world!
I could easily spend 40 or 60 hours a week with SCORE. With
discipline I manage to spend about 10 hours per week.
So, that’s a brief summation of how I spend my time. It is
interesting and motivating so time flies quickly.
I also sprinkle in visits with the families of my daughter
and son. They include two granddaughters and one grandson. These are the bright
lights of the future and give me hope and pleasure.
Along the way we cram in visits to doctors, medical labs and
drug stores. How we ever did this before retirement is beyond our imagination,
but then we didn’t have as many ailments then, either!
I’d hazard a guess that this stage of my life is one of
communing with community. One learns much of the inner richness of the
community by participating in it. The learning grows rapidly if time is taken
to drink in the workings of community. There are many lessons in listening and
absorbing their messages. The lessons are invaluable teachers of the facts of
life. They help me be me, and better.
Not a bad life to live each day! Each day tends to be better
than the previous one. One can only imagine where this may lead!
May 18, 2015
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