However, I would have needed a larger canvas for that.
Many people don’t live to see their 70th birthdays. I’m one of the lucky ones you might say. We do become more reflective as we age and this birthday finds me looking back over the years. You may ask what has living all these years brought my way? Surely, it’s brought what life brings to everyone of us – ups and downs, joys and sorrows, good and bad experiences, and so much more along the way.
This chapter of life is challenging because it’s the last one. While there have been challenges all along life’s path, this one comes with the regular challenges, as well as health challenges for many. Just last week, my doctor told me that knee replacement surgery may be necessary for me down the road. While this isn’t good news, I’m fortunate that technology has made this procedure somewhat routine nowadays. My perspective has had to change. I view my legs and my body with a wealth of gratitude that I never had before.
“There are things I can’t force. I must adjust. There are times when the greatest change needed is a change of my viewpoint.” —Denis Diderot
Feeling grateful is a big part of the ripening that we experience as the years go by. We’ve been places, done things, been in and out of love, experienced the value of family and friendships and gained wisdom along the way. Even when I have experienced tragedy and loss in my life, there were others who stood by me and seemed to carry me along. These people have been there for me and may be the reason that I’m celebrating 70 years now. I’m grateful for the big and little things in my life – from little wayside flowers to 70th birthdays.
“We don’t grow older, we grow riper.” ~Pablo Picasso
For many seniors, retirement from working life comes with a feeling of uselessness. This is due to the value system our society holds that equates success with work. There’s no need to feel that way though – we’ve put in our time the way society taught us to. This time of life is not about position, money, and worldly possessions. Been there , done that. Now is our time to make the last years our best years. We can choose to do as little as we want or as much as we want. The choice is ours.
“The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.” ~
Personally, thus far, retirement has been a time to get to know myself better. There’s a lot more time for “being” and discovery. I have been fortunate to do some writing and sharing through “Late Blooms.” I have taken many photos in many places and consider myself to be somewhat a photographer. Volunteering as a server at lunch in a Seniors Building opened new vistas and opportunities for me. I was able to meet some awesome people while serving them. They showed me by their example how to enjoy one’s senior years.
Helping an 8 year old with his reading and writing through a “Leading to Reading” program is also rewarding and enriching for me. I have come to know the whole family which is a blessing in itself. In my early retirement years, I also volunteered to teach English at Romero House – a centre for refugees. Each and every opportunity for serving in the community has brought much personal growth and meaning to my life.
“We need to come to understand to the center of our souls that age is not a disease. It is a new experience in how to live life, how to milk it dry of goodness, of energy, of gratitude, of calm and quiet creativity.” ~ Joan Chittister
Another wonderful experience for me has been taking up artistic pursuits. I’ve had the opportunity to do mosaics with ceramics and stained glass, painting, and even tried my hand at pottery. Some of my art work and photography has even been displayed in the condo building, along with that of others. Our Art Gallery is called “Gallery 50.”
Life is full of surprises! I never ever expected to be called an artist. However, one day when I was coming out of the elevator, I met a beautifully dressed lady entering, and told her how beautiful her dress was. She said: “Are you Jean?” I said “yes.” “You’re the artist” she stated. I heard myself saying I was one of them. Many others in the building ask me about my art work. In the afternoon of life, we can surprise even ourselves by taking on a different identity.
“A human being would certainly not grow to be 70 or 80 years old if this longevity had no meaning for the species to which he belongs. The afternoon of human life must also have a significance of its own and cannot be merely a pitiful appendage to life’s morning.” ~ Carl Jung
Shortly before I retired, I learned to play the accordian and was able to play my whole repertoire of songs in many different situations while still working. For many years after my retirement, I also enjoyed playing both at home and for others. After retirement, the one experience that meant the most to me was when I played at West Park Hospital, Toronto, and some of the staff and the volunteers danced. Patients got very excited too. Although I was a novice player, that day I felt like a “diva.”
Another significant occasion for me with my accordion was when I played at a friend’s birthday party and some people danced. This was a friend I had made during the time I was volunteering at the Senior’s Centre. I heard from another person who was present that she said that was one of her best birthdays. On these occasions mentioned and on others , it was a giving of myself that made them special and also how my gift was received.
“Giving of ourselves, sharing our gift, is what lifts us. The tricky part is, none of us knows exactly how we will impart the gift we have to give: what kind word we speak, what song we sing, which hug we give will be the one that touches another soul.” ~ Laya Saul
Like at every other stage of life, the only constant is change. I have changed in my likes and dislikes. What I pursued in my youth, no longer has the same appeal for me now. Added to that, I may no longer be physically able to participate in some activities. I can dance, but not all night, as I was able to do as a teenager. The same goes for other interests and may not be for physical reasons at all. I have just outgrown certain things, and sometimes certain people. I treasure my time with others but also enjoy my solitude.
We have to decide to “be.” To be content, happy, live a meaningful life, make a small contribution to the society and world we live in, are all conscious choices. I’m endeavouring to do this in whatever way I can for as long as I’m able to. If I never had the time before to get in touch with who I am, this is the time. It’s a journey of discovery. I realize that getting to be 70 is more than about the years lived. It’s about what those years have been filled with and what plans I have for the years to come. My life isn’t over yet.
“With age comes the inner, the higher life. Who would be forever young, to dwell always in externals?” ~Elizabeth Cady Stanton
My favourite birthday card (above) came from an old high-school friend and was unlike the other cards around turning 70. It says: 70 Colorful Years! Inside it reads,
The years you’ve lived, the way you’ve lived them…
All of it could only add up to one thing, and that’s the vibrant
one-of-a-kind person you are today.
I like coloring, working with paints of different colors, arranging flowers of different colors and decorating with different colors. At 70, I want to think that my life has been colorful.
“The first forty years of our life give the text, the next thirty furnish the commentary upon it, which enables us rightly to understand the true meaning and connection of the text with its moral and its beauties.” ~ Schopenhauer
For 70 years, I’ve experienced all the ages and stages before this one. I’ve been part of the dynamic processes that make up life’s journey. Just as a newborn baby grows and changes everyday, so change takes place in us every day as we grow older. Growth changes are subtle and oftentimes slow. I can hardly believe it myself when something that I was able to do effortlessly suddenly becomes a challenge.
I am often frustrated with myself before reminding myself that this is a different stage of the game. Being gentle with myself is what’s called for here. I’m still here and can adjust and make the necessary changes. As Epictetus said many years ago, “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” I’m trying to follow this advice.
As long as I’m still looking forward to adventuring and learning, I believe this decade will be good. Age doesn’t change the things we like to do – it just changes how we do them. Easy does it!
“Time ripens all things; no man is born wise.” ―
