When my first Australian Government superannuation payment arrived, I commented to my daughter that it wasn't all that bad being 'middle-aged'. She laughed and said, 'Dad, you're not middle aged ... nobody lives 'til 118!'
She was right. We laughed and I remembered that I'm actually somewhere near, or in, the Eighth Age of Erik Erikson's 'Eight Ages of Man'. Noted German psychologist Erikson said in the Eighth Age - Late Adulthood:
Baby Boomer
... as older adults we can often look back on our lives with happiness and are content, feeling fulfilled with a deep sense that life has meaning and we've made a contribution to life, a feeling Erikson calls integrity. Our strength comes from a wisdom that the world is very large and we now have a detached concern for the whole of life, accepting death as the completion of life.Well Erik, I have news for you ... I'm not ready to go yet. I have far too much unfinished business. That's right, as I've lived I've discovered that there is more to life than paying your mortgage payments, educating your kids and working for someone you don't necessarily like, doing an unfulfilling job. There's a whole world out there to discover and now I have the time and resources to discover it. To me, 60 is just a number ... like 20, 35, 80. Who cares about what number you are? It's what lies within that matters. While people talk of 'not feeling 60', we have no idea about what it 'feels' like to be a number any more than we know what it feels like to be dead. I feel as good now as ever. Better in fact. I've resolved some of life's challenges and unravelled a few mysteries, I've got a long line of successes, a healthy bank balance, and some very close, life-long friends including my wife. My life is more wonderful today than it has ever been because I'm free; free from worries, from narcissism (I don't care that I don't look like Tom Cruise), I don't give a rat's bootlace what others think, or feel insecure and concerned that I might die and leave young children.
Today I have few regrets and don't mind having a touch of arthritis in my fingers and legs, or that my hair is greying and thinning and that it takes me a little longer to do things. These are a small price to pay. I still play squash and go to the gymnasium ... I enjoy every day and make the most of it. As some wise person said, 'It's not the years in your life that matter, it's the life in your years'.
Every day I live with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the wonderful life I've had. Every new day is a bonus. If I die this afternoon, I'll still have had a wonderful life.
If you're turning 60 soon, remember Richter's words that, ... life becomes more bright the longer we live and the reason of everything appears more clear; what has puzzled us before seems less mysterious and the crooked paths look straighter as we approach the end.
Copyright Robin Henry 2007 | Published March 2007
A Baby Boomer's Thoughts on Turning 60
Robin Henry is an educator, human resources specialist and Internet entrepreneur who writes articles about a wide range of topics. You can find out about Robin's most recent online business here: http://www.web-names.ws or here: [http://www.download-audios.com]
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