During the past month, I have had the opportunity to travel to the Sierra Nevada area, especially the North Lake Tahoe area along with the Reno/Sparks area in Northern Nevada. It is an amazing part of the country to visit, and even to live.
To understand the significance of this area to those that are retired or “nearly” retired, I encountered the premiere issue of Sierra Nevada BOOMERS, a bi-monthly publication of the Sierra Nevada Media Group. Recognizing the value of this group of individuals, this organization has put together both a printed publication as well as a Sierra Nevada Boomers Web Site striving to reflect the distinctive lifestyle of the Boomer generation, especially those in the Reno, Tahoe, and Carson City region.
From my perspective, no matter where we live, Boomers experience all of the same concerns that non-Boomers experience, but with a different focus. In addition, I believe there are issues that become much more significant in the life of the retiree as we move through the second half of our life.
Maybe my perspective is different than most, but for me, here are some of the questions and/or issues that come to mind:
- Do I need to repair any relationships that have been injured or broken?
- Am I making the world a better place to live every day? Even a single act of kindness, gentleness, or self control changes the world.
- What am I doing with my life that will benefit those that come behind me?
- How are my children’s lives or grandchildren’s lives impacted by my actions today?
- Am I more involved with my family, my neighborhood, or my community?
- I may not be able to have an impact on national or world affairs as a sole individual, but I can definitely submit myself to praying for God’s will to be done.
- Am I allowing any hidden gifts or talents to be cultivated by stretching my comfort zone?
As I traverse this road of retirement, I find that I have a greater appreciation for the visual arts. I see the majesty of the colors exhibited in nature and I realize that what strikes me is that this is the last time I, or anyone else, will see that particular image unless it is captured by some kind of visual arts media.
Consequently, I have become more interested in photography. I want to capture visual imagery that will let others coming behind me see how my world , as limited as it might have been, looked through my eyes.
Rocking Chair Wisdom would like to know if and how your outlook on life has changed as you live out your life of retirement or if it is changing as you approach your future retirement day? Let us know at RockingChairWisdom@gmail.com and we will try to compile them for a future issue of Rocking Chair Wisdom. Please let me know if it is ok to publish your comments and/or name should you choose to respond.
Here are a couple of scenes that caught my eye over the past few months. These were taken with my Canon PowerShot A 650 IS. You can find other cameras and accessories in the Rocking Chair Wisdom specialty store. Now maybe someone can coach me on how to improve on the images.
Golf Course at Martis Camp in North Lake Tahoe designed by Tom Fazio
View of North Lake Tahoe taken on April 2, 2008
I know there are many other ways to express ourselves to others. When thinking about the rocking chair the vision of a grandfatherly type old man came to view just sitting there whittling. I wasn’t even sure if anyone whittled any more until I found a web site with photos of his various works. Possibly this is a form of art that is being lost to the intricacies of another form of art such as wood carving.
We are a generation that gets involved and can make things happen. Let’s not lose our culture to posterity. Let’s individually do our own part to preserve what little bit we can. Let’s be sure that our children and grandchildren can see the positive things we have been able to do to enrich their lives.
