Demographic researchers have floated survey after survey over the years, finding that even when Boomers anticipated having more than enough resources to retire, 8 out of 10 of us expected that we would continue working indefinitely.
Back then, a long couple of years ago, the right to work as long as we wanted to was a life-affirming rallying cry, reminiscent of all of the previous revolutionary moves our generation has made over the years. Our generation-wide postponement of even revised notions of retirement was, in fact, the archetypal expression of our lifelong devotion to the quality we value most. Not status. Not even comfort. Rather, it is freedom: the ability to choose our own destinies.
We insisted that the men of our generation be able to grow their hair as long as they wanted. And the women bust through the glass ceiling to new heights in their careers. And then, when the surveyors called, we answered in unison: Nobody was going to tell us when, whether or how to retire. We would work as long as we wanted to, and that was going to be for a long, long time.
For Boomers, freedom has always been amongst the highest of our generational ideals. So here’s the irony. Because of the recession, we’ve proved the surveyors right. Postponing retirement “indefinitely” has become for many of us a reality. Not only for the reasons we thought, however, but also because we need the money. Those of us who are fortunate may have kept our jobs, or found new ways to make money. But most of us share something in common. We have lost the freedom to make the choice of whether to work or not.
Despite this loss, our generation continues to hold tight to our determination to have freedom in our lives. Frankly, many of us are finding that we’re having to work harder and harder at it. Nevertheless, I am amongst those working towards reinventing a notion of freedom that even the recession can’t suppress.
Here, in a nutshell, are three ways I am personally reinventing freedom in my life.
- The freedom to find joy in my work.
I wanted to work when the researchers surveyed me several years ago—and I still want to work. If I can keep my ego out of it, I can celebrate the fact that postponing retirement was something I was choosing to do, anyway. - The freedom to enjoy the hours I’m not working.
Many of us are working fewer hours than we wish we could. The dollars just aren’t there and we are working temporary, freelance, part-time or whatever. Now is our opportunity to practice hard core the simplicity we’ve been flirting with ever since we put books like Simple Abundance onto the bestseller lists. - The freedom to be a whole person, regardless of what I’m facing.
Those of you who have read my book The Year I Saved My (downsized) Soul: A Boomer Woman’s Search for Meaning…and a Job know that I was out of work for many months. During those months, I had to dig deep to find that place in me that knew I was going to be alright, regardless of the external challenges that I faced. This is spiritual freedom—perhaps the most precious and valuable freedom of all.
Great post! As a laid off mature worker, I too have tried to salvage my spiritual freedom. I have recently started a raised bed organic garden! With the help of my daughter, we have started a blog to record and share our progress. It is called “Pink Slip Garden” if anyone is interested in sharing their tips!
I agree terrific post! In my experience I find that my patients are working more because they have the energy to do so. When they first come to me they are depressed tired and lack energy to keep up with the pace but getting in touch with their spiritual self and really taking care of themselves makes a huge difference in how they choose to see this new paradigm.
Terrific post, right on the money, well done, well done. The women I know in my profession who have retired all said the same thing,”I retired too early, don’t you do it.” I am not financially in a place where I can retire. I am not emotionally in a place where I want to retire. The irony is that I feel like I am better at my job now and I am less valued because of my age. That may not be true, but just how I feel occasionally.
I’ve done many things in my 60 plus years to put food on the table and a roof over my head: free lance feature writing, journalism, playing dinner music piano in restaurants, teaching beginning piano lessons, teaching English/writing, publishing a literary magazine, backyard gardening, and now I’m turning a hobby into a side business to supplement my forced retirement that cuts my salary in half. I’m spinning and weaving and I sell things every so often and now that I have more time coming up, I will be attending craft shows. Since my name is Penelope, weaving seems only natural
I’m a successful business owner, now 26 years serving F50 corps. For all these years i’ve had the illusion of what Freedom really is…e.g: setting own hours (often 7 days/week!)…now in my mid-50′s i see that if i continue down this path, what i have to look forward to is to work harder, and never realize true freedom!
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