I was recently asked how the economic downturn is affecting the senior citizens I talk to in the course of my volunteer activities. The seniors I deal with are not the healthy, active, prosperous seniors we all hope to become. These are very vulnerable people who are already living on the edge: low income, physically or mentally impaired, and socially isolated. They do not have to worry about losing jobs and most don’t have mortgages or investments; but a cutback in a government program, a spike in the cost of food or rent, the loss of a caregiver, or a health setback could be enough to push someone barely making it over the edge. And while constant exposure to television news of “economic collapse” and impending financial disaster in the country is disturbing to some of them, others have faith that things will turn out all right.
I am constantly amazed by the resilience of the seniors I talk with, how they keep their sense of humor and somehow manage to find joy in their lives, even in the most difficult circumstances. My husband says he couldn’t do volunteer work because it would make him sad. It doesn’t work that way for me. I usually come home feeling energized, with more gratitude for the good things in my own life and for being able to briefly cheer up someone else. And while I am grateful that I’m still young enough to take steps to ensure my own financial, physical and mental health in my old age, I’m also well aware that “life happens” and that things could change in the blink of an eye. This is why I need to care about them, why we all need to care about one another.
Showing posts with label Volunteer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Volunteer. Show all posts
Friday, February 6, 2009
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Gratitude
2008 started out as a bad news year. I’ve had news of friends and family members losing their jobs, serious illnesses within my extended family, and the death of a cousin who was so loved and will be deeply missed by many. All this bad news came while I, along with everyone around me, it seemed, fought off a miserable winter virus with chicken soup and hot tea. I spent the first month of 2008 just wishing things would get better for everyone who is having a bad time.
Having lived through similar challenges myself, it was not difficult for me to empathize with the troubles of my friends and relatives and to become sad when thinking about how quickly good times can turn bad. Sometimes I need to remind myself how important it is to be grateful for all the good in my life. A habit of gratitude enriches the good times and helps us through the tough times that are bound to come. In my volunteer work, I talk to folks who are in some very tough circumstances, and I’m constantly surprised by how cheerful, strong, and optimistic some are. Their gratitude, whether it is for a long life that was good most of the time, people who care, small everyday pleasures, or memories of loved ones who are gone, keeps them going and helps them find the joy in life underneath the sadness.
Having lived through similar challenges myself, it was not difficult for me to empathize with the troubles of my friends and relatives and to become sad when thinking about how quickly good times can turn bad. Sometimes I need to remind myself how important it is to be grateful for all the good in my life. A habit of gratitude enriches the good times and helps us through the tough times that are bound to come. In my volunteer work, I talk to folks who are in some very tough circumstances, and I’m constantly surprised by how cheerful, strong, and optimistic some are. Their gratitude, whether it is for a long life that was good most of the time, people who care, small everyday pleasures, or memories of loved ones who are gone, keeps them going and helps them find the joy in life underneath the sadness.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Christmas Wishes
I have a thousand things to do before Christmas Eve, but instead of doing them, I am sitting by the window, watching the rain. This was going to be a stress-free holiday season, my first as a retiree; but Christmas is a busy and emotionally-loaded time of year for everyone, regardless of their situations, I think. Listening to rain always gives me a feeling of relief and release. It calms me.
Tom and I delivered baskets, gifts, and quilts to seniors today. In the past, my Christmas charitable activities had been limited to writing checks, and I looked forward to this more hands-on experience. This is going to be my life from now on; getting out there and trying to find meaning for living, rather than working all the time to earn a living. Only trouble is, I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to completely make sense of it all.
I get satisfaction out of letting lonely seniors know that someone cares, but feel sad that so many people end their lives in that circumstance and wonder if I will, too. I feel happy when I reconnect with my aunts and uncles at Christmas time, but feel sad that so many of them are now gone or are declining physically. I enjoy selecting gifts for friends and family members, but stress out on whether my selections will be appropriate or inadvertently convey the wrong message, and I still feel a little bit conflicted about the materialistic aspect of it all.
In the end, though, I look forward to Christmas. I enjoy the lights and the decorations and the food and the parties, and most of all that collective feeling of sincere good-will that I think is the true cultural meaning of this holiday.
I wish a wonderful Christmas holiday to all my family and friends.
Tom and I delivered baskets, gifts, and quilts to seniors today. In the past, my Christmas charitable activities had been limited to writing checks, and I looked forward to this more hands-on experience. This is going to be my life from now on; getting out there and trying to find meaning for living, rather than working all the time to earn a living. Only trouble is, I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to completely make sense of it all.
I get satisfaction out of letting lonely seniors know that someone cares, but feel sad that so many people end their lives in that circumstance and wonder if I will, too. I feel happy when I reconnect with my aunts and uncles at Christmas time, but feel sad that so many of them are now gone or are declining physically. I enjoy selecting gifts for friends and family members, but stress out on whether my selections will be appropriate or inadvertently convey the wrong message, and I still feel a little bit conflicted about the materialistic aspect of it all.
In the end, though, I look forward to Christmas. I enjoy the lights and the decorations and the food and the parties, and most of all that collective feeling of sincere good-will that I think is the true cultural meaning of this holiday.
I wish a wonderful Christmas holiday to all my family and friends.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Moving On
Each time a major change occurs in our lives, whether it is a marriage, a death, a new job, a move to a different city, we have to reconstruct the pieces that make up our daily lives, like putting together a puzzle. After five months of being retired, I am still doing that.
The first thing I had to do was to disengage from my old routine: getting up at 6:00 AM, keeping the kitchen stocked with the ingredients to make my brown-bag lunch, putting out my wardrobe for the next day each night, and setting up the coffee maker before going to bed at 11:00. All of this was gone in the blink of an eye, as was driving to the office while listening to my favorite radio station, walking across the parking lot, turning on the computer to check my email, reading the daily company news, going for my noon walk, etc.
In place of that old, familiar routine, I began to add new things that I never had the time or energy to do before, things like making a healthy breakfast for myself each morning, working out at the gym three days a week, shopping for fresh food at the farmer’s market, going out to lunch with my husband. Errands are now spread throughout the week, instead of crammed into the week-end.
But after five months on this new, more relaxed routine, I felt like there was something missing. A big part of that was being a member of a community of people. Although I still keep in touch with my former co-workers, I no longer really “belong.” I missed having an independent existence that I could call my own. When I got into my car and drove to work each day, another part of my identity emerged, the part of my self that was out in the world “doing something” and using my expertise, energy and mind to solve problems, get things done, and be recognized for it. These are the things that I kept in mind as I pondered the various types of volunteer activities I could pursue.
The first volunteer position I have accepted in a local social services organization involves two afternoons a week at an office where the small permanent staff made me feel like part of the family immediately. Some of the duties will require me to “stretch” a little in developing my people and listening skills, which is one positive thing. More positive still is the fact that my incentive for being there is to help people in the community. Continuing to complete the puzzle of building my new routine will be an on-going process. Perhaps I will later want to add one or more different volunteer activities, or perhaps I will really click with this one and want to spend more hours here. By taking this first step into the world of community service, however, I feel like I truly have taken the final step in leaving my old life as a corporate employee and moving on.
The first thing I had to do was to disengage from my old routine: getting up at 6:00 AM, keeping the kitchen stocked with the ingredients to make my brown-bag lunch, putting out my wardrobe for the next day each night, and setting up the coffee maker before going to bed at 11:00. All of this was gone in the blink of an eye, as was driving to the office while listening to my favorite radio station, walking across the parking lot, turning on the computer to check my email, reading the daily company news, going for my noon walk, etc.
In place of that old, familiar routine, I began to add new things that I never had the time or energy to do before, things like making a healthy breakfast for myself each morning, working out at the gym three days a week, shopping for fresh food at the farmer’s market, going out to lunch with my husband. Errands are now spread throughout the week, instead of crammed into the week-end.
But after five months on this new, more relaxed routine, I felt like there was something missing. A big part of that was being a member of a community of people. Although I still keep in touch with my former co-workers, I no longer really “belong.” I missed having an independent existence that I could call my own. When I got into my car and drove to work each day, another part of my identity emerged, the part of my self that was out in the world “doing something” and using my expertise, energy and mind to solve problems, get things done, and be recognized for it. These are the things that I kept in mind as I pondered the various types of volunteer activities I could pursue.
The first volunteer position I have accepted in a local social services organization involves two afternoons a week at an office where the small permanent staff made me feel like part of the family immediately. Some of the duties will require me to “stretch” a little in developing my people and listening skills, which is one positive thing. More positive still is the fact that my incentive for being there is to help people in the community. Continuing to complete the puzzle of building my new routine will be an on-going process. Perhaps I will later want to add one or more different volunteer activities, or perhaps I will really click with this one and want to spend more hours here. By taking this first step into the world of community service, however, I feel like I truly have taken the final step in leaving my old life as a corporate employee and moving on.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
A Final Word About Work
You hear a lot about how the coming wave of baby-boomer retirements is going to swamp the Social Security and Medicare systems. I’ve even read some articles on how the government and businesses need to encourage us to continue working longer, in order to keep the economy and the national budget healthy, as well as to stave off an impending brain drain and labor shortage in the business world. Encourage us how?
As far as I’m concerned, the way to encourage people to keep working is to make them love their jobs, and give them enough flexibility to have a fulfilling, healthy life outside of work. However, the trend in business seems to be just the opposite: more mergers that produce gigantic conglomerates where people feel like numbers; “streamlining” initiatives designed to squeeze more productivity out of fewer employees; the constant threat of being downsized, outsourced, re-engineered. Even the wonders of modern technology, the cell phones, pagers, blackberries and laptops are often used not to make work easier, but to make it harder to escape from it, even at home. Few companies have programs to retain retirement-aged workers or any workers, for that matter.
Of course, we all know that companies are in business to make money; we’ve heard it often enough. Their primary purpose is not to have happy employees and not to help the federal government bail out Social Security and Medicare. Ultimately they are going to do what they must to remain profitable, we are going to do what we must to live fulfilled and happy lives, and the two don’t always coincide.
Perhaps the way to help our country’s economy without working into the grave is by keeping healthy and volunteering our time in ways that will give back to society. One of the staggering opportunities of having free time in retirement is the chance to do meaningful work for no pay at all. I know that many employed people are dedicated community volunteers, but many are also like I was, too caught up in the insular world of the corporation to look beyond at the greater world. I scan the web and find almost too many opportunities to get involved in something that has meaning. It may take me awhile to find the perfect fit – but that will be my next big project.
As far as I’m concerned, the way to encourage people to keep working is to make them love their jobs, and give them enough flexibility to have a fulfilling, healthy life outside of work. However, the trend in business seems to be just the opposite: more mergers that produce gigantic conglomerates where people feel like numbers; “streamlining” initiatives designed to squeeze more productivity out of fewer employees; the constant threat of being downsized, outsourced, re-engineered. Even the wonders of modern technology, the cell phones, pagers, blackberries and laptops are often used not to make work easier, but to make it harder to escape from it, even at home. Few companies have programs to retain retirement-aged workers or any workers, for that matter.
Of course, we all know that companies are in business to make money; we’ve heard it often enough. Their primary purpose is not to have happy employees and not to help the federal government bail out Social Security and Medicare. Ultimately they are going to do what they must to remain profitable, we are going to do what we must to live fulfilled and happy lives, and the two don’t always coincide.
Perhaps the way to help our country’s economy without working into the grave is by keeping healthy and volunteering our time in ways that will give back to society. One of the staggering opportunities of having free time in retirement is the chance to do meaningful work for no pay at all. I know that many employed people are dedicated community volunteers, but many are also like I was, too caught up in the insular world of the corporation to look beyond at the greater world. I scan the web and find almost too many opportunities to get involved in something that has meaning. It may take me awhile to find the perfect fit – but that will be my next big project.
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