It must be my age, I keep telling myself. Obviously, many of the people I know are now of a similar age to me and, unsurprisingly, are retiring.
I don’t mean that they are shy, or find it difficult to engage with others, oh no!
I’m talking about ceasing to undertake gainful employment.
Nevertheless, it is a little disquieting to find out that yet another person has taken the plunge and had dived deep into the retirement pool.
The encouraging thing is that all seem to be embracing it in the way that I feel is important.
They don’t say ‘retired’ in Portuguese; it’s reformado, or ‘reformed’.
In Spain, when ‘she who must be obeyed’ worked there, it was ‘jubilado’, which is apparently related to jubilee or jubilant, which is just a wonderful sentiment.
The point I’m trying to make here is that the word ‘retired’ in English has connotations which don’t exist in either Portuguese or Spanish.
To be retired sounds rather negative; as if you are no longer able to engage fully.
Reformado or jubilado have more of a sense of rebirth or of happiness: A new start.
Indeed, in both Portugal and Spain, they talk of the time after work as the ‘third age’ and it is this notion which has inspired the University of the Third Age, or U3A, which is increasingly popular around the world.
Most of the people I know who have either recently stopped working or are about to do so have undertaken this with both a sense of challenge and a determination to make the very best of the ‘third age’.
To achieve something which they did not have an opportunity to do when working or bringing up a family.
In this way, it truly is a marvellous chance to do all manner of things that are novel.
I have a friend who retired after a distinguished career in Her Majesty’s armed forces and now spends his time travelling the world as a guest speaker on cruise liners; what a great thing to do!
Another decided to set up a radio station in an impoverished African country!
Someone who decides to stop working is often someone with a lifetime spent acquiring talents and skills.
Furthermore, they now have the time to pass them on or to use them in new ways.
They also may have the desire to learn new skills.
To write off these persons as being unable to contribute is not only disrespectful but is wasteful and ignorant, too.
An organisation like U3A has recognised this and brings together an experienced ‘instructor’ with others who wish to keep learning.
In this way, learners find out how to build a house or to paint or to speak another language or to play a musical instrument.
And who is showing them how?
An expert of 30 or 40 years!
So, if you are stopping work and are entering your third age, celebrate and keep learning and pass on your expertise to others.
If you are younger and think of your elders as ‘past it’, beware: We know more than you, have time to both acquire new skills and can plan what to do with them!
Mike Gaunt is a former headmaster at St Christopher’s School, Bahrain – mikegaunt@gmail.com