Demographic researchers have floated survey after survey over the years, finding that even when Boomers anticipated having more than enough resources to retire, 8 out of 10 of us expected that we would continue working indefinitely.
Back then, a long couple of years ago, the right to work as long as we wanted to was a life-affirming rallying cry, reminiscent of all of the previous revolutionary moves our generation has made over the years. Our generation-wide postponement of even revised notions of retirement was, in fact, the archetypal expression of our lifelong devotion to the quality we value most. Not status. Not even comfort. Rather, it is freedom: the ability to choose our own destinies. We insisted that the men of our generation be able to grow their hair as long as they wanted. And the women bust through the glass ceiling to new heights in their careers. And then, when the surveyors called, we answered in unison: Nobody was going to tell us when, whether or how to retire. We would work as long as we wanted to, and that was going to be for a long, long time.
For Boomers, freedom has always been amongst the highest of our generational ideals. So here’s the irony. Because of the recession, we’ve proved the surveyors right. Postponing retirement “indefinitely” has become for many of us a reality. Not only for the reasons we thought, however, but also because we need the money. Those of us who are fortunate may have kept our jobs, or found new ways to make money. But most of us share something in common. We have lost the freedom to make the choice of whether to work or not.
Despite this loss, our generation continues to hold tight to our determination to have freedom in our lives. Frankly, many of us are finding that we’re having to work harder and harder at it. Nevertheless, I am amongst those working towards reinventing a notion of freedom that even the recession can’t suppress.
Here, in a nutshell, are three ways I am personally reinventing freedom in my life.
1. The freedom to find joy in my work. I wanted to work when the researchers surveyed me several years ago—and I still want to work. If I can keep my ego out of it, I can celebrate the fact that postponing retirement was something I was choosing to do, anyway.
2. The freedom to enjoy the hours I’m not working. Many of us are working fewer hours than we wish we could. The dollars just aren’t there and we are working temporary, freelance, part-time or whatever. Now is our opportunity to practice hard core the simplicity we’ve been flirting with ever since we put books like “Simple Abundance” onto the bestseller lists.
3. The freedom to be a whole person, regardless of what I’m facing. Those of you who have read my book “The Year I Saved My (downsized) Soul: A Boomer Woman’s Search for Meaning…and a Job” know that I was out of work for many months. During those months, I had to dig deep to find that place in me that knew I was going to be alright, regardless of the external challenges that I faced. This is spiritual freedom—perhaps the most precious and valuable freedom of all.
