60
+: The Age of Blooming
I entered the Third Age by looking at its challenges, many challenges. I will deal with only a few of the challenges. The challenges have to do with the interior aspects of aging: the loss of a role/identity and the experience of a particular quality of loneliness.
The loss of a role identity
In a party or a meeting, people often ask, "what-do
you do?" I reply. "I'm retired". Well, when you don't do anything useful in
our American society, who are you anyway? One of the saddest thing of aging
is the blurring of identity.
One's identity is the deposit of experiences, relationships and roles. When
these are taken away, you are not sure who you are anymore. Who are you when
there is nothing you must do nothing you have to do.
Loneliness.
The
particular quality of loneliness in aging is somewhat different from the loneliness
of the first and second age. 
In
the Third Age, loneliness persists despite the very warm closeness of family
and friends. Happily, our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being
alone. It has created the word "loneliness" to express the pain of being alone,
and it has created the word "solitude" to express the glory of being
alone. I am delighted to announce that loneliness can be conquered by those
who can bear solitude.
I
turn now to the promise and hope of the Time of Blooming.
I find more time for reflections, taking it easy which
allows further development of the interior life of intellect, memory and imagination.
Opportunities for the nurturing of emotional maturity are plentiful here in
our community of Pohai Nani (name of our Retirement Center). There is the
excitement and promise of sharpening of my personal sense of spiritual identity.
And then, there is the opportunity to give back to society the lessons, resources
and experiences accumulated over a lifetime.
What
is this Blooming, anyway? It is Radiance.
The best way to understand Radiance is to look at children
at play. Look at their delight, their spontaneous movements. They run into
the world, just run no goal, no reason, just run. There is no thought of winning
or self-improvement. Why run? Children run into the world because the sheer
glory of it beckons and animates them. There is the sheer glory of the radiance
of the world. The glory of the world, the radiance of the world is what provokes
the children to throw open the door of their affections. Wonder is the hinge.
Running is the headlong "Yes". But the radiance of the world calls forth the
enthusiasm.
And
in the Third Age, this Radiance is the Radiance of God in the midst of our
world, our lives!
I conclude with these few lines from T.S. Eliot, "Four
Quartets".
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
ALOHA!
