By Mark Harvey

From what I’ve seen, retirement isn’t for everybody — and it certainly isn’t for wimps!

I think we tend to undervalue the magnitude of retirement as a major life change. We tend to see it as a little party, where you get a gold watch (or something like that), then ride blissfully (if somewhat wistfully) into the sunset with a box of personal office crap, free from the stresses and demands of the workplace, to luxuriate forever in the paradise of utter idleness.

You’ve … escaped!

And I have to assume that there are folks for whom that’s true. I just haven’t encountered many of them.

For most of the folks I’ve known or talked with, “retirement” is right up there with marriage, divorce, baby-making and/or the first significant blow to one’s health/physical abilities. (You know, the one that isn’t going to go away — the one that sacrificed the big, red “S” on your chest on the altar of survival.) It is a major game-changer!

And it makes sense: For many of us, our work/employment has been a central focus of our lives. It has been the thing that financially sustains us and the ones we love — and, whether we realized it or not, it also provided a substantial amount of what people like me call “socialization.” True, there were certainly yahoos and (fill in the blank), but there were also good, decent people you respected, liked and cared about.

… And, if we were lucky enough to actually care about what we did for money, it brought us satisfaction, accomplishment and self-esteem — a reason to be.

… And it structured a lot of our time. Maybe it structured too much; maybe we let it structure too much. But the fact is that it structured a lot of time.

As we retire, there goes that particular income stream, and all those people/relationships, and all those demands and all the ancillary activities that result from work.

So (as we breathe a sigh of relief), boom! Suddenly, life is a very different place.

We have time we’ve mostly never had before. True, the garage needs to be cleaned up/out; true, there’s that pile of books you’ve been assembling; true, the garden/landscaping needs attention. There’s just a lot of stuff you’ve never gotten around to — and now we have time!

Enjoy!

… But watch out, because while time is a gift, it can also be a curse. Too much time to fill, ruminating about who we are vs. who we were. Too much time to waste.

The less we do, the less we want to do or feel like doing, so … “Hey! I’m retired! I can do whatever the hell I want — including nothing!”

Days get longer, weeks get longer and nights get much longer.

We tend to see retirement as an act of “going away from.” But if we’re smart (or sufficiently desperate), we might figure out that it needs to be an act of “going to.”

Now what?

Were you beginning to wonder if I was ever going to get around to it? I don’t blame you, so here it is: Consider volunteering. Yes, as in “working for free.”

Because we need you, that’s why.

It might take a while to completely absorb that concept.

At this point, those of us who are able to even get to the concept, might consider launching an effort (or, at least, a Google search) for “volunteer opportunities.” Great! That’s one way. Here’s another: Think about what matters to you — what you actually care about.

Is it kids? Is it Elders? Is it homelessness? Is it politics, or a particular political orientation? Is it animals? Is it malnutrition/lack of food? Is it education? Is it church, or a religion-based effort? Is it litter control? Is it racial inequality? Is it “helping your neighbor”? Is it tutoring? Is it getting people to their medical appointments? Is it law enforcement?

What moves you? What are you passionate about? What matters to you?

For most of us, that isn’t hard. There may be one thing, or there may be a dozen things! But once we know that, then we know what we’re looking for: I want to help with (fill in the blank). Then, go looking for that. You’ll find it; you’ve got time.

I could go on indefinitely about all the research that “proves” the benefits of volunteering as it relates to health, possible dementia, “health aging,” “happiness” — but I won’t, because I suspect you’ve already heard most of it.

You didn’t just crawl out from under a rock (I presume), so you know the world can use all the help it can get! And money and programs and the private sector and the public sector can’t do it all — never could. But, you could help.

Are you going to singlehandedly solve homelessness? I doubt it. But I am absolutely certain that you can make your little part of the world a little better, a little lighter, with less suffering, less fear and less loneliness.

You, little old you. The retired one. The one who has a choice. The one who has the time.

The one that remembers that line from an old Bob Dylan song: “If you’re not busy being born, you’re busy dying.”

Go stand in front of a mirror and tell me what you see, because I see the one who can be part of The Solution.

I see the one who has the time.

Mark Harvey is the director of information and assistance for the Olympic Area Agency on Aging. He can be reached by email at harvemb@dshs.wa.gov; by phone at 360-532-0520 in Aberdeen, 360-942-2177 in Raymond, or 360-642-3634; or through Facebook at Olympic Area Agency on Aging-Information & Assistance.