third act, retirement
In the hero’s journey, the third act is when the hero returns home, changed by the adventure of life.

The third act in a narrative, whether on film or in a book, is the falling action, where there is some kind of resolution and loose ends are tied up.

In life, the third act is usually called retirement – the final third of a long life, which usually begins around the age of 60 to 65.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my third act lately, wondering how I want to live in this last part of my life, where I’ll place my energies. There is a sense of not wanting to waste precious time. I want to live according to my values. I want to experience life and continue to contribute.

The word “retire” means to withdraw, to retreat to a safe place, to stop working. That does not sound appealing to me at all. Dr. Christiane Northrup writes in the preface to The MindBody Code by Dr. Mario Martinez,

The retirement age was instituted in Germany by Kaiser Otto Von Bismarck as a way to give people a state-funded pension so they could rest before they died. This was in 1880, when the average life expectancy after you turned sixty-five was only eighteen months. Now, it’s twenty-four years!

Of course, we have no idea how long our third act will be. It could last a day, a month, or thirty years. For some, the idea of not working at the job they’ve been doing for many years is very attractive and I totally get that.

The question still remains, how do we live the time we have left? How do we handle the aging process and the storms of life that will inevitably come up? How can we still contribute?

For many of the people I admire most in the world, there is no such thing as retirement. They continue to work in some capacity, with purpose until the day they die. When people ask me when I plan to retire, I say never. I’ve found what I love to do and don’t think of it as work.

Be an Intern 

On a recent flight, I enjoyed watching the movie, The Intern, with Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway. The tagline is: “Experience never gets old.”

De Niro plays a retired, seventy year old man, recently widowed, who is still grieving the loss of his wife. He’s trying his best, getting up every day and getting out, doing Tai Chi, etc. Yet, something is missing.

He sees an ad calling for an elderly intern at a cutting edge new company run by Hathaway’s character. It’s a lovely movie where young and old come together and all learn from and are enriched by each other. We need more of that.

The elderly in our culture are simply not appreciated in the way that they deserve. With the possibility of living thirty plus years after retirement, this mindset needs to change. Those in their later years have a wealth of experience in both life and work and much still to offer. They matter.

Lessons from Centenarians 

In The MindBody Code, Martinez outlines four qualities of centenarians (people who have lived over the age of 100) – resilience, perseverance, creativity, and flexibility. Over the next few posts, I’ll look at each of these qualities, beginning with resilience later this week.

Our culture tells us that there are certain acceptable ways to be in our elder years. Once you start paying attention, you will see these expectations everywhere. How many times have you said to yourself or someone’s said to you, you’re too old to do that? Question those things. What centenarians do is very simple; they don’t buy into cultural expectations around aging one bit.

When you hear the word “retirement,” what does it bring up for you? Is it something you’re excited about or something you fear?

If you’re already retired, how have you lived your retirement intentionally? What have you found most difficult? Has photography helped you in some way?

I hope you’ll join in this conversation as it will help me flesh out my own thoughts.

** Books mentioned have Amazon affiliate links, meaning I make a few cents if you purchase through my link. I only recommend books that I’ve read.

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