Musings on Retirement

To retire is to stop something you are doing, thus leaving space to start something new—sometimes simply a time of rejuvenation and rest.

For some of us, retirement from our professional or work life is a distinct life marker. Other times, it is a seamlessly flowing transition from one thing to another. The focus when retiring is on what we are leaving behind. Healthy retirement involves a ritual closing of the old followed by a time to adapt, and then moving forward with intention about the choices we make for the next stage of our life. It is always an opportunity for something wiser than we have ever experienced. n
I Have Learned n... that to retire I need to stop one endeavor before proceeding onto the next step in my life.
Retirement has traditionally meant permanently stopping a lifetime job. It now means more than nstopping something. It potentially can be a transition into another important process in our lives nas we continue building bridges and deeper connections. Whenever we move on to something new from something old, there is some tugging between feelings of relief and grief. I have witnessed in my own life, and my client’s lives, the need to take the time and space to fully appreciate the importance of past experiences.

Musings on Retirement, With a Sense of Promise
A ceremony marking retirement is an opportunity for the person to reflect on their life and the npromise of the future. How mindful were your parents in planning their retirement? What adult nresponsibilities do you wish to give more awareness to, so that you can fully actualize this ndevelopmental stage in your life? Is retirement something you passively accept, or something you organize and plan for? How do you plan to care for your health every day as part of your retirement?

Encouragement
We invite you to embrace retirement as an opportunity for reassessing how you want to be in nlife—what you want to be doing, and with whom. We encourage you to see this time as a wonderful possibility to choose what really gives you comfort, joy, and satisfaction.

My commitment to living gracefully as a retired adult is ...

The above is an excerpt from Welcome Home to Yourself: A therapist and photographer explore the meaning of life through individual lenses—a mother and son’s journey published in 2008 by Relationships Matter Publishing Inc. www.suzannekyra.com