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On the Usefulness of an Older Person
Your third act offers all sorts of new opportunities!
I RECENTLY HAD A BIRTHDAY, and at a family gathering, I was asked: So, how does it feel to be 70? I had been thinking about that question for a few weeks. I never had a second thought about turning 50 or 60, but I must admit turning 70 had a chill to it. It’s a lot of years to be alive, a mixed bag of fond memories and painful reminders. I’m living in what some call “the third act.”
What’s that mean in practical terms?
Follow the media targeting baby boomers, and you’ll read glossy stories about people from every walk of life who, in their 50s, 60s, and 70s, apparently enjoy lives so full of joyous activity and abundance that they can hardly contain their enthusiasm for what comes tomorrow. I’m happy for them, but they don’t represent the majority.
In my experience, I’ve met far more older folks who are less than satisfied in their retirement and often lonely for human interaction. These folks vastly outnumber the beautiful people who are jetting off to distant lands with plans to luxuriate with friends in a hot tub in Sri Lanka.
