There are two questions that we have to ask ourselves. The 1st is ” Where am I going?” and the 2nd is “Who will go with me?” If you ever get these questions in the wrong order, you are in trouble. Howard Thurman
We, the over 50, are waking up to the fact that our social networks are shrinking and our consequent need for supportive, intentional community is rapidly growing. We are grappling with existential questions of loss, limitation, and ultimately death, because we know in our heart of hearts that what served and satisfied us before, if it did, no longer does and won’t.
Many mid-lifers and later-lifers are consequently yearning for and seeking meaning, relevancy, belonging and contribution through community involvement, activism, and altruism. By helping the middle classÊover-fifty return to their roots through the development of compassionate community for change, perhaps, just maybe, we can sway the rest of America back to the right path so that it could be a beacon to the rest of the world.
Although there is extensive economic poverty in the US in the early 21st Century, there is more than enough wealth to resolve it. What is lacking is a common desire and will to do so. People over 50 control more assets than any other group in the history of human beings. However, at this juncture of their lives, they often suffer, along with many others, from another form of dire poverty endemic in our country: alienation.
Connection is why we are here. It is what gives purpose to our lives, and it is hard-wired. Shame is the fear of disconnection. It is universal and no one wants to talk about it (I’m not good enoughÉ I’m not worthy.). Americans are full of toxic shame and terrible fear of social death (separation and divorce, loss of adult children through empty nesting, elderly parents through death, job termination and forced retirement, illness and ageing, poverty and homelessness), as well as physical death because many of us lack the experience of real, caring community.
Why don’t those of us who are in their 60s and 70s band to together, along with those in their 50s and 80s, and finish the revolution that we started back in the 60s and 70s for our children and grandchildren? We could save ourselves, our reputation, and the planet simultaneously. Whitney visits with Mark Alyn about the challenges of growing older.
For more information about Whitney visit his website at www.workthefuture.today
Turning Grey Into Great
Turning Grey Into Great Part 2
