Retiring? Then you’ve got time to volunteer
October 27, 2019
By: Mark Harvey
Email: harvemb@dshs.wa.gov
From what I’ve seen, retirement isn’t for everybody – And it CERTAINLY isn’t for wimps!
I think we tend to under-value 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.
Right.
I’ve…ESCAPED!
Maybe.
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 that I’ve known or talked with, “retirement” is right up there with marriage(s), divorce(s), baby-making and/or the first significant whack to one’s health/physical abilities (you know, the one that isn’t going to go away – The one where you had to sacrifice that 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 sustains us and the ones we love, by providing money; 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 that 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, beyond just being a money producer.
…AND, it structured a LOT of time!
Maybe it structured too much; maybe, we let it structure too much! Or, maybe we just cared about it that much, or maybe we did it in the name of supporting our families or or or…
But the fact is that it structured a LOT of time!
Now, we retire, so 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!
Life is – Suddenly! – A very different place.
We have…time; probably, time that 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 and…TRUE! There’s just a lot of STUFF that you’ve never gotten around to – And now we have…TIME!
ENJOY!
…and watch out, because while time is the gift, it can also be the curse: Time. Too much time. Too much time to fill, too much time to fill with 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-**** I want! Including, NOTHING!”
True. Time. Nothing. Days get longer, weeks get longer and nights get much longer.
We tend to see retirement as an act of “going away from;” 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.” It might take a while to completely absorb that concept: Work for…FREE?!
Yes. Because we need you, that’s why.
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 religiously-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 ______; 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 that you’ve already heard most of it.
You didn’t just crawl out from under a rock (I presume), so you know that 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.
Are you going to, singlehandedly, solve homelessness? I doubt it. I doubt that you will save the world, 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 can tell you what I see: I see the one that can be part of The Solution.
I see the one who has the time.
Mark Harvey is the director of Information and Assistance for Olympic Area Agency on Aging. He can be reached at harvemb@dshs.wa.gov or 532-0520 in Aberdeen, (360) 942-2177 in Raymond or (360) 642-3634. FACEBOOK: Olympic Area Agency on Aging-Information & Assistance.