The Wisdom of Retired People
In family businesses, the founders are revered. They take on the status of legends and their advice is listened to and learned from. In society, we tend to belittle the advice of our senior population. I think there is something of value in listening to the wisdom of retired people. Please note that I said “listen” to the advice rather than following their advice. It may be a bit outdated with the way things have changed but there is usually a truth that can be taken away from someone who has so much experience. I am well aware that these are the words of a senior citizen, but I will tell you that I always at least listened to the stories and advice from those who were older than me. They are our history and if we don’t learn from what happened before us, we are making decisions without the benefit of some valuable insight. History does not necessarily repeat itself, but it always guides us.
I worked for a business that, at one point, was a family business. When I started with them, they had just sold the business to a conglomerate, and the four primary owners could not believe the money they were being offered. They took their fortune and went out to live their dream. None of their children had wanted any part of the business and they wanted to enjoy the fruits of their labor. A lot of the senior executives left as well. They had been well taken care of by the family and their loyalty to the family made the transition to the new corporate owners very difficult. The company lost a tremendous amount of expertise. Almost no one was kept on because the new owners were guilty of something our society has seemingly become blind to: the wisdom of retired people. I can understand the desire to do things in a new way and not be tied to the past, but something is lost if we don’t pay attention to those who have gone before us. One visit to Colonial Williamsburg, Mount Vernon or Monticello will reveal how fortunate this country was to have a group of citizens who dared to stand up for independence. Were they perfect? No. They made mistakes and had their own biases and prejudices but, at that moment, they made decisions that benefit us to this day. Later leaders would correct the injustices that had been ignored when the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were being written. Slavery wouldn’t be eliminated until the Civil War and women wouldn’t be given the right to vote until 1920. History is valuable and we can learn from the successes and failures of those who went before us. Sometimes I think we are in danger of losing what history can teach us.
I know that to a younger generation this is just some old guy being bitter. But that’s not the case at all. There is a value to listening to the stories of our senior citizens. They bring a perspective that cannot be replaced. One of the best projects I heard about was getting the veterans of World War II to record their memories. We are rapidly losing all those who were part of that war effort. Some of them were very reluctant to recount what they saw. What does that tell you? To me, it says that the horrors of war are so terrible that anything we can do to avoid future bloodshed should be at least attempted. But look around and see how much we have learned. It’s pretty sad. We don’t do it as a society, and we don’t do it individually. Many other cultures honor their senior citizens in a way that should be very inspiring to our own country. But it’s not. We constantly overlook the value seniors can provide with their experience and knowledge of what works and what doesn’t as we try to solve the problems in the world. The wisdom of retired people should be regarded as an asset but for many, especially those in power, they are seen as another expense and problem.
The wisdom of retired people is not unlike that of the great leaders of our past.
Retired people need to stand up for themselves. Too many of us stay silent and just pursue our own interests. Don’t get me wrong. I am a huge proponent of enjoying retirement to the fullest, but I am not about to live in a bubble and watch the world go off the rails. The senior population has a lot of power when you look at what they spend and, without that economic activity, do you know how many cruise companies and restaurants would go out of business? Society may not acknowledge the wisdom of retired people, but they are very aware of our economic power. We have more political clout than we realize. I think organizations such as AARP are very good at representing the interests of people like us. But it wouldn’t hurt to attend local town meetings or even the political party of your choice. I happen to like writing letters. When someone does something I like they will get a complimentary letter from me and, if they do something I take issue with, they will get another letter explaining why. Newspapers are tired of hearing from me, but I will not ever get tired of writing to them. We need to speak up in life and have a purpose. In fact, I just sent off another letter this morning and it became an inspiration for what you're reading right now. It is good to be informed even though it might be depressing sometimes. Make sure you get your information from a reputable source who can back up what they’re saying with facts. The wisdom of retired people everywhere is one of the world’s great assets, but we have to make the effort to be heard.
Retirement isn’t giving up and it can’t be just watching out for ourselves. We need to be fully participating members of society who always vote and always make their opinions known. We owe this to our fellow retirees, to those who came before us and to our children as well. And you know what? You’ll feel energized and inspired so go out and let someone know how you feel. It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!
Thanks for visiting. If you like what you see here, please tell your friends.
If you think it might be fun to start your own website (it is!) please look here.
If you’d like to learn about earning a steady online income, please check out this possibility.