A Guide For Us All
Life has never been all that straightforward and with so many things on the horizon lately needing our considerable attention, just navigating this new territory can be a bit unsettling. So how important or relevant can a focus on religion be for us right now and is it a way of looking deeper into ourselves that can give us answers to difficult questions? Even if you have a well-developed financial plan using the very best advisors, it doesn’t always guarantee a comfortable and well-balanced life in retirement and life does have a habit of throwing us curve balls when we least expect it.
We all quite naturally succeed or fail on the strength of our own merit. This has always been an important aspect of any healthy democracy but what if society has been predisposed, placing too much importance on our material wealth over values such as kindness, equality and love. It’s often rare that these two aspects will exist in the same person but, in either case, we carry our beliefs along with us all the way to retirement, these ideas establish the way we see ourselves and the world around us. Retiring gives us the chance to review our ethics now that money is no longer king.
“Faith. It’s all about believing you don’t know how it will happen. But you know it will.” Anonymous
Faith, prayer and spirituality can have an important role to play in our ability to accept our circumstances and to know that nothing ever really stays the same. Depending on your beliefs, death is either the ultimate conclusion or it’s the beginning of a brand new journey. So, “does time end when I die or is there a part of me that exists beyond this earthly domain”. How you answer will affect your view of life itself but ultimately, the seeds of tomorrow are always the ones you are planting today.
The idea of a religious or spiritual retirement should not be misunderstood as anything esoteric or particularly mystical; it’s more about acceptance and predicting how well you’re going to cope with the diverse challenges and the stress of entering this 3rd phase of life. Whether rich or poor, healthy or not, it can be hope and one’s faith, along with developing spiritual practices that can help settle us down, providing a more balanced approach to life and a positive way to face the emotional peaks and valleys we must all traverse when entering retirement.
Research Study by PMC Associated with US National Institute of Health and another from American Cancer Society Found That:
- 69% of cancer patients reported praying for their health compared to 45% of the general U.S. population
- That religion/spirituality can help patients find meaning in their illness and provide comfort in the face of existential fears
- 59% of people worldwide describe themselves as religious, irrespective of whether they regularly attend religious services.
- The relationship between Religion/Spirituality and patient-reported physical health underscored the importance of attending to patients’ religious and spiritual needs as part of comprehensive cancer care.
How you define God is up to you but for many boomers suffering the loss of family members and lifelong friends, it can all be quite overwhelming. If we develop our inner strength and some form of regular spiritual practice, then we can be guided into wellness and better health if we allow it. Finding peace is the ultimate adjustment that we must all make.
There are many ways forward – consider here some of the many possible approaches we can take :
- Materialism – you believe that what you see, sense, smell, touch and taste is the fundamental substance of nature and that all things, including mental states and consciousness, are primarily the result of material interactions only. Nothing exists beyond our ability to sense and perceive the world around us. Materialists could also be referred to as Agnostics because they generally doubt in the afterlife. Nothing exists once I’m gone.
- Christianity – you believe in a creator and that the death and resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of your faith. Sinful humans can be reconciled to God, and are thereby offered salvation and the promise of eternal life (heaven). All others, no-believers, are condemned to eternal damnation (hell).
- Spiritualism – you believe the spirit has no form and refers to that which goes beyond all form. Spiritual traditions cultivate silence and meditation as being essential to discovering the inner spirit. You believe that meditation is the path that allows you to transcend the physical and mental states of consciousness. You believe in rebirth and reincarnation.
It makes little difference if we are a person of faith or a person of no faith, if you take a moment to just recharge, to sit quietly and commune with nature, you don’t have to be particularly religious, but if you just go out and breathe deeply and look at the wonder of creation, then that’s a way to reconnect with your own life, a way to learn how to weave what your feeling back into the way you live your everyday life. Try it for yourself, you may be surprised.
“Your faith can move mountains and your doubts can create them.” Anonymous
Religion can help open our hearts to a better understanding of ourselves and how we fit into the world around us, it can help us deal with the deadlock, pressure and crisis in our lives, it can help to restore peace of mind which helps us face more calmly whatever changes the future may have in store for us. Many in our modern age consider either science or big pharma to be the ones who will ultimately be there to help us out with these annoying feelings of restlessness and insecurity. The next big thing we are told, is waiting just around the corner. But what if science, technical advancement or radical new medications can not make humans morally better off. It would appear that with all our advancement, all our scientific progress and our amazing achievements that we continue with our violent acts and immoral practices. Perhaps it’s time for a breakthrough so that we begin to investigate more honestly how greater religious and spiritual freedoms can help us all to reset our ethical and moral standards which will then provide humanity with a more meaningful destination.
Hi Gary, thanks for a thought-provoking essay on religion and spiritualism. Most of us reading Retire Mindfully have probably reached that age where we give our religious or spiritual views a little more attention and your article is a helpful reminder.
Thanks for your thoughts, in tough times faith and a spiritual approach to problems can be the glue that keeps us all together.
Hello Gary. Very nice to meet you, and glad we bumped into each other at this period in our lives. Our faith in God became the most critical factor in our retirement. Within three days of leaving the USA and landing on Roatan, we found a small English-speaking Christian church. They called it “R Church” (for Roatan). We got active in their ministries to impoverished indigenous people, and that activity has played an enormous role in the quality of our retirement “chapter.”
As we traveled to other destinations such as Panama, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia, we met hundreds of like-minded retirees. They had found a way to use part of the extra time they had to help tired, over-worked missionaries relieve suffering, provide necessary food, and clothing, and minister to make a better life for these unfortunate people. Of course, WE are the real beneficiaries as God changes our hearts and gives us a purpose for the remainder of our lives.
Today, we live in Medellin, Colombia, and this is our favorite of all the destinations we’ve visited. In this area of over 4 million people, including a growing English-speaking presence, we are part of a group establishing the first Christian church for English-speakers. And we feel blessed as more and more people learn about us, and as we have opportunities to expand our outreach. It only takes a couple of days per week, but our lives’ positive impact can’t be measured.
I encourage your readers to consider the impact they can have during this latter part of their lives. Retirement can be the grandest adventure and create lasting memories, many new friends, and high life quality. It has for us.
Hey there Steve and Paulette, that’s such an inspiring thing you are both doing. Your right in saying there is ‘so much more’ we can contribute to humanity and the suffering of others. Your personal story and encouragement is well received by all. Be well and safe.