If there’s one thing for sure….Senior Citizens are NOT one-size-fits-all. Oh, I know that marketers and demographers will tell you otherwise. They have a name for every everyone… Millennials, GenX, Boomers, Silent Generation, etc. They would have us all fit in neat orderly categories – outliers raise havoc with their systems.
But look around, eyes wide open, and you’ll see that we don’t fit their boxes – not anywhere close. Yes, you’ll see similarities in the characteristics and behaviors of groups of people in the same age group or social structure. But there are loads of people who just don’t fit the norm.
Let’s take for example, those of us who are listed as Senior Citizens. Some of us are wizened and sickly before they reach retirement age. Others are very active at 90 and 100. Where we fall in the mix depends a great deal on how we perceive life and how we choose to live it. Some are perfectly happy sitting on the front stoop in their rocking chairs, others are world travelers or creatives and philosophers.
If you are a Senior Citizen, you know that you are unique. Let your talents and skills shine forth. You have a LOT to contribute to the world.
We’ve lived through and contributed to some of the most amazing developments in human history…both good:
inventions like flushing toilets
microwaves
automobiles
solar power
TV, internet and other technologies
reversals in areas of human rights and prejudices
the ability to communicate with other people around the wold at the speed of light
and (hmmm) not so good:
pollution
genetically modified seeds that don’t regenerate
growing dissatisfaction and depression
increasing terrorism and wars
control, distortion and dumbing down of information
aggression and intolerance for anyone who is “different”
age, sex, and other discrimination
Both lists are endless.
I’m not here to define right and wrong or to judge.
As senior citizens, we’ve “been there – done that”. And, we are still learning and growing and contributing to this world we share. For every innovation there is a better and a less good application. We choose.
As senior citizens, we can still make a difference. We don’t need to militantly march in the streets or get a bullhorn to shout from the rooftops. But we can attest to the lessons we’ve learned.
We can show by example. We can put our skills to use by using our talents and hard-earned insights to make our own corner of the world a better place. We can shuck off the bitterness and anger around us and focus on that which is empowering and good that exists everywhere. We can now influence the use of all those innovations that are now available to us.
Remember, some of the greatest writers, artists, philosophers and innovators have been men and women who began to “make a difference” late in life.
Whatever your age, whatever your capabilities, you matter. Just as one candle can dispel the darkness, you have the power to make a difference. In our lifetime we’ve developed so many tools. We’ve added to the wealth of society. We built
those microwaves, cars, TV, internet and other technologies. We don’t have to sit back and let them be abused. We can help to make sure that they are used for the good of our children and great-grandchildren.
There is not a person alive – at any age – who can not influence the future of civilization.
We have work to do!