Do you see retirement as an ending or a beginning? What about college graduation? As my daughter started her first full-time job, this week I’ve been pondering life transitions, and beginnings and endings.
Welcome to week 19 of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a sustainable living tip for the week. In addition to beginnings and endings, this week’s post has updates on: bricks made from sugarcane, how mindset can increase longevity, celebrating the aged, and eco-friendly gift wrap.
The Sunday Spark – Week 19
On my mind this week: beginnings and endings
A couple of this week’s events made me stop and think about life transitions—and how every ending is an opportunity for a new beginning. It’s all in our perspective.
On Sunday, I got together with several high school friends to celebrate my friend Doris’s 60th birthday. As you’d expect with a gathering of people in this age group, there was a lot of talk about retirement, and putting our jobs and careers behind us.
Then on Monday, my daughter Colleen—a recent college graduate—started her first full-time job.
Both retirement and a first job are significant life events, yet most people think of graduating college and getting a first job as a beginning. On the other hand, our youth-obsessed western society portrays retirement as an ending to the useful part of our lives and the time for us to fade away into the irrelevance of old age.
I see things differently. To me, retiring from my full-time career will be a beginning—an opportunity to reinvent myself and do all the things I’ve never had time to do while juggling a full-time career and family responsibilities. If I’m going to be on this planet for another 25 to 30 years, I plan to make the most of it and not sit on my porch watching the world go by. That’s one of the reasons I got interested in retirement coaching. It helped me see there are so many things I still want to do, and I believe others in my age group feel the same way.
Will the next generation change our life view?
Life is full of beginnings and endings. With changes in the world of work, I suspect this job will be the first of many career transitions my daughter will experience. Like most in her generation, she looks at work differently than my generation did. Since starting work last summer as a co-op student, she has observed that many of her co-workers work excessive hours and don’t take vacations. She’s willing to work hard, but she sees that working yourself to death isn’t sustainable or desirable. It took me many years to learn that lesson.
As I approach the end of my career beginning of my next chapter, I will be watching with interest as the next generation finds their way in the workforce. I hope they will continue to seek the balance between work and leisure that my generation missed out on. Because working yourself to death really is an ending without a new beginning.
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Three highlights of the week
It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:
- On Sunday, we celebrated the 60th birthday of one of my high school friends. We had a wonderful afternoon at Wayne Gretzky Estates winery in Niagara-On-The-Lake. Gathering with long-time friends is always a joy.
- The Blue Jays are back! Every time I looked out of my home office window this week, I saw close to a dozen blue jays at our feeder. They will probably stick around for a week or two before heading further north for summer, and then they will return in the fall on their way back south. They seem to be a lovely shade of blue this year. Maybe that’s a good sign for our Toronto Blue Jays.
- On the subject of colour, I’m excited to see tulips in bloom. They add such a nice splash of colour to our landscape.
Three things I learned this week
Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week:
Bricks made from sugarcane
Concrete production is a major contributor to the world’s carbon emissions. Sugarcrete is a low-carbon alternative to brick and concrete. It’s made from bagasse, a by-product of sugarcane. Sugarcrete bricks are four times lighter and have only 15 to 20 percent of the carbon footprint of traditional bricks. Plus, bagasse is plentiful—there’s enough supply to completely replace the brick industry. (Source: DeZeen.com)
How you view aging can impact how long you live
Pause for a minute and write down the first five words that come to mind when you think about older people. If you live in a western culture, chances are your words won’t be complementary. This week, I have been reading a fascinating book by Becca Levy. In Breaking The Age Code, Levy presents research that positive age beliefs can help you live longer—7.5 years longer! It seems the elusive fountain of youth lies within our minds.
Celebrating the aged
Did you know that Japan has an annual celebration of the aged? Keiro No Hi, celebrated in September of each year, is a national holiday. Imagine a culture that celebrates and reveres its elder citizens, rather than making them feel like a burden! Perhaps that’s one of the secrets to the Japanese having the longest life expectancy in the world. (Source: Breaking The Age Code, Becca Levy)
Sustainable living tip: eco-friendly gift wrapping
May is a big month for gifts in our house as we celebrate my husband and younger daughter’s birthdays, and also Mother’s Day. With that in mind, it’s appropriate that we’ve got a bit of a gift theme going on this month in The Sunday Spark.
Continuing with the theme, sustainability doesn’t stop with the gift itself. Gift wrap creates a lot of waste. With a little creativity, you can find alternatives to non-recyclable, glitter-laden gift wrap. Check out Green your holidays with 10 low-waste gift wrap ideas for tips and ideas.
Oh, and Happy Mother’s Day to all!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.
I love the low waste gift wrap ideas – and the attitudes about aging and work are so fascinating! Congratulations to Colleen on her graduation and job and may she always find a balance!
Thanks Wynne! Yes, Becca Levy’s book “Breaking the age code” is a fascinating read about mindset and attitudes toward aging and the ageism that exists in western society.
I love your perspective on retirement. I think that’s a really healthy way to look at a next stage of life. And it sounds like it would tie into the idea of a positive view on aging. There’s a lot of interesting ideas and topics in this post!
Thanks so much. The book, Breaking The Age Code, is a really interesting read. It makes sense that a positive view of aging would increase your lifespan but the book gets into the science and research behind it.
When I finally saw my husband retire last November I saw the end to his work stress and the beginning of the rest of our lives. Our new lifestyle seems to fit us to a tee, now the only stress he has is probably controlling me and my desire to go, go, go. I’m trying to reel that in a bit, but when I’m in a beautiful place like we are now, I want to get out and enjoy it, not stay cooped up in the motor home. Then I’m in a dilemma of leaving him and the dogs behind. But I do get out and have some time to myself, walking or something every day. It’s nice though to not be on as much of a time restriction as when we used to come here on vacation.
Hi Kim. That’s great that you’ve found a formula that works for you and Dave. I would be like you, wanting to explore different places. And it’s wonderful to be able to do it at a more leisurely pace.
Yes ma’am! I’m working on being less selfish about what I want to do and what he wants to do, but it’s hard when what he wants to do is watch too much tv.
Oh he sounds like my husband! What is it about men and their TVs? My sister says the same about her husband since he retired. I could go all day and never turn the TV on. LOL
Me too…if I’m busy!
Coincidentally, my Dad asked me just yesterday if I was bothered about turning 50 next year. I told him it was just a number!
Exactly! The book I’m reading right now about how your mindset affects your health and longevity is fascinating. You are only as old as you feel!
My view regarding retirement is exactly like yours—an opportunity to try new things and do what I’ve wanted for years. I’m busy each day, yet it feels different because the pressure of bills to pay and getting to work on time is not there. We planned well for retirement and started putting money away in a tax-sheltered annuity beginning with the second year of our careers. My philosophy in retirement is “no regrets.” I don’t waste time working up my courage the way I used to do because the hourglass has turned. I don’t focus on life ending; I am all about new beginnings. My first blog post almost four years ago was entitled “New Beginnings.” The only ones I see unhappy in retirement are those who haven’t found their purpose. I volunteer in the community service projects that interest me, exercise regularly, write, and just look for ways to contribute to something positive and meaningful to the world.
Best of luck with your choices, Michelle.
Oh Pete, this is a testimonial to how I look at the next chapter of life. “No regrets retirement” – now that would be a good title for a book! You’ve really hit the nail on the head when you speak of the importance of purpose. People tend to underestimate the purpose their jobs give them, and for some it’s very difficult to replace. Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts. Have a wonderful week ahead.
I always think of things as beginnings….my daughter graduates next weekend and I’m thrilled to see what’s the next step for her. My birthday was last week and I’m looking forward to what 59 will bring. The only time I really obsess about endings is in books and movies…
Happy belated birthday! I will be 59 in a few weeks, so I’m just a little behind you.
Happy birthday in advance!!
Thank you! 😀
Yes. Endings can indeed be come beginnings (if one hasn’t over-worked oneself to death)! I admire that one of your retirement strategies appears to be coaching other people to have a more fulfilling retirements. When I was laid off from my last job (at which I regularly worked long hours with no extra payment for overtime), I began my “retirement” a bit early and focused on music — learning how to lead Music Together classes and putting together 25 hour-long programs of music to share at retirement communities, libraries, synagogues, etc. with a jazz pianist. The arrival of COVID in our lives severely curtailed my teaching and gigging opportunities — and also catalyzed me to learn how to release music to various streaming platforms. Now all three activities (teaching, performing and releasing songs) keep me engaged with the world in a positive way (and lift up my spirits after I read yet another sad or infuriating or terrifying news item). I come back to the wisdom of the Tao again and again (“only change is guaranteed”) and baked some of Lao Tse’s wisdom into my song called “A Beating Heart” which is available in two different versions: (https://songwhip.com/willmcmillan/a-beating-heart2023) and (https://songwhip.com/willmcmillan/a-beating-heart). A friend whose husband died last year tells me that she has been listening to it first thing each morning for many months… as a reminder that life ebbs and flows — that we come and eventually we go! Thank you for yet another gently thought-provoking blog post.
Hi Will! Your story is very inspiring. Many people who are suddenly or unexpectedly “retired” flounder and struggle to replace the sense of purpose they got from their jobs. Turning a hobby into a source of meaning and income is the ideal scenario, in my opinion. When I tell people I want to work in retirement, many of them don’t get it. A very wise former boss of mine always says “There’s a big difference between work and a job.” I will probably “work” until I die, but it’s unlikely I’ll have “a job”.
Thanks, as always, for dropping by.
I work not far from a brick works. If we could replace clay with sugarcane waste then that would be perfect. At work the air is often full of dust from the brick works so an alternative would be appreciated.
Sugarcane bricks is definitely a promising innovation. It would be wonderful!