When I reluctantly retired from a business, I left behind friends, a sort of family, my home which was part of it and much income. They are all losses, like little deaths. My children grew up and moved away. I also realize I’m a senior citizen so I left behind my youth as well as the other necessary losses. We build a life, hit plateaus, then as we age learn well or badly, the art of letting go. It’s easier for some than it was for me. Swings of depression are felt now and then. I realize it is time to fill the space with something new, something fulfilling, especially if you are alone. It can be work at the beginning to find adventures small and large but we do need meaning and worth, not in other’s eyes but our own. I used to think going back to that work was the answer but for me it is not as I would just be trying to fill a mental space and not learning to live right here, right now. Old dogs can learn new tricks and The Villages is a good start.
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