Revelations
By Dixie Darr
"My concern is not just about surviving. I would not live at any cost My attempt is to do better than just survive, but to thrive and to thrive with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style." Maya Angelou
The woman in front of me at the grocery store was attractive and looked younger than her gray hair suggested. When she told the checker that she was retired, I was shocked and felt a quick stab of jealousy. For just a couple of seconds, I longed for retirement, when I could spend my days doing whatever I wanted to do without having to scramble to find work that will pay the bills. Finally, a carefree life.
Then I came to my senses. After all, I’ve spent the last two years researching and writing about the myth of the Golden Years. I remembered that I don’t want to retire, that we don’t retire because we get old, we get old because we retire. Yet, the retirement industry has done a masterful job of selling us on the idea that retirement is a reward instead of a shunting aside.
Quick, name three people living today whom you admire. How many of them are retired? My guess is none. We admire people who are vitally involved with the world, doing the work they were put on earth to do. A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of seeing one of the people on my “Most Admired” list—Maya Angelou. An astonishingly accomplished poet, author, director and teacher with 55 honorary doctoral degrees, she’s 75 and still going strong.
So, I don’t envy the woman at the grocery store, after all. I’d much rather be like Miss Angelou, vitally involved with life until the day I die.
