Retirement is one of the most significant changes in the adult pilgrimage. Far too many people experience it as loss, rather than the next chapter in life’s adventure.
In part, this is due to the inevitable grieving that accompanies any major change, even those that are positive. Every time we close the door on one life chapter and open another, there are things we leave behind. And if those experiences have been positive then, by definition, we feel a certain measure of loss.
Retirement is a door that closes on not just one chapter, but a series of chapters devoted to building a life’s endeavor, a home, a family, and the friendships that accompany that part of the pilgrimage. So, there is a great deal that we lose.
But the spiritual challenge in retirement is also daunting because we live in a culture that emphasizes “doing.” Because it does, retirement can threaten to foreclose on our sense of self-worth, undermine our sense of independence, and even raise questions for us about “who we are.”
When that happens retirement can be a killer — literally.
At the heart of that experience are spiritual challenges that can turn the killer into an opportunity for fresh spiritual growth. In the next day or two, I want to outline some of those opportunities.
Uh, YES!