Mary VanderGoot

For some time I have wanted to engage others in a conversation about the Boomers. Many of us are now moving into the years of retirement. We are reflecting back on the decades of our lives since the dramatic 1960s. I like the quote from Soren Kierkegaard: "Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forward." Never has that seemed truer to me than in this stage of life in which the prospect of growing old seems to be moving nearer, and the invitation to reflect on the past seems more boldly inviting.

If the world changes in the future, and it most certainly will, it will be due to the efforts made by generations after us. Despite this our own last chapter need not be disappointing. We should not fear it. We are not the first generation to question what we were taught by our parents or to put to a test the religious teachings on which we were raised. We also are not the first generation ever to face aging.

As we grow into the years that complete our own individual stories will we be drawn back to the wisdom of the ages to sustain us in facing the limits and the mystery of life? We forged our freedoms, and now we are in a stage of life after freedom that requires more than freedom. If we can lovingly take our ground and accept the challenges of spiritual courage, it may be the most blessed.