ABSTRACT
Many have found it helpful to understand retirement as one more life stage, which brings challenges, requires adjustment, and provides opportunities for continued development. A significant difference between retirement and earlier developmental stages is that this one comes during adulthood once we have achieved significant growth and are generally independent and capable of making intentional plans and decisions to facilitate our adjustment. Like transitions between earlier stages in life, retirement involves change-change that is funda - mental to our continued evolution, for without change we would stop growing,
stop living. Retirement is not the end of life; death is the inevitable final stage of that journey and both are best met with acceptance and planning (Brown, 2013). This is not to ignore the pain and sense of loss that many feel as part of this tran - sition. Loss of purpose, prestige, financial security, and social connection are not uncommon reactions to retirement and are therefore thoughtfully addressed through - out this book. However, retirement is about more than loss. Like other losses mourned, once one acknowledges the losses and the changes associated with retirement, the retiree is then positioned to engage in development for the future. Retirement is not about either loss or opportunity, but both; similarly, the transition into retirement is not linear. Instead, like most stages of human development, it ebbs and flows-advancing and receding. Those of us who are parents or have worked closely with children may think of the sometimes unpre - dictable and extreme behavioral changes of toddlers and adolescents. What we may not recall as clearly are the times of calm between these bursts of change. Although we appreciated these periods of peace and may have thought of them as the “calm before the (next) storm,” we may not have thought of their develop - mental importance. But it is during these periods of calm or homeostasis that the child actually grows and advances in preparation for its next stage. This phenomenon is no less true of those progressing through this stage of retirement. Between times of excitement, uncertainty, and dread, we will experience periods of seeming calm when nothing appears to be happening. Instead of considering these times of peace merely as breaks, these are times for inner reflection that fuel the process of disintegration and reintegration (Bridges, 2004) and ulti - mately lead to personal growth. Recognizing retirement as such a “neutral zone” in life, Linda Thal writes in Chapter 7, Retirement as Spiritual Challenge and Opportunity, that retirement provides a “time to learn how to move from doing to being . . . to be fully present to whatever arises in your life.” Retirement is best thought of as a commencement that both recognizes an end and marks a new beginning, which provides an opportunity for continued growth and new adventures. As such, this is a time for celebration! During this period with fewer responsibilities for others, we have time to reengage in activities that once brought us joy and fulfillment but had to be put aside because of other demands. Rabbi Rachel Cowan (2010), a noted scholar on aging, reminds us that at this stage of life, we have unbelievable resources of experi - ence, energy, passion, time, and wisdom. We are no longer “building résumés” nor concerned about how others evaluate our performance. We can take risks, experiment with new activities and relationships, and not be concerned about how we look. We are free to experience life to the fullest!
