By Ruth A. Wooden,
Chair, Civic Ventures
Shift Happens. It’s probably happening to you right now
My big shift started when I retired last year, and it’s still going. I’m not sure where I’m headed, but it’s been a pleasure to hit the pause button while I ponder. Lately, certain life moments have hooked my attention, turning points that mark shifts not only in the world around me but in the way I view it.
In l968 I graduated from college on the day Bobby Kennedy was killed. It stunned everyone. Our commencement march turned into a funeral procession, complete with bitter rainstorm to mark our passage into the real world.
Three years later I was living in St. Louis, where I joined a bridge club that never played bridge. We’d deal the cards in all earnestness, but then they’d sit in a little puddle in front of us while we did what we hadn’t realized we’d meant to do: build the women’s movement.
1983 brought me my one and only child, which fundamentally shifted by whole orientation. And just five years later, I got my first CEO job and I was (if possible) even more terrified. I didn’t know what to do, but I had to act as if I knew exactly what I was doing.
Since I left my midlife career and entered this entirely new stage of life–what my friend and colleague Marc Freedman calls “the encore years”– I’ve had many conversations that take me back to the early days of the women’s movement. At the time we felt marginalized, underutilized and alone. It’s the same now for many of us who have finished our midlife careers but don’t exactly know what’s next. We have to get together and talk about it, no?
I’ve enjoyed being in a state of rest and renewal as I think about what’s next for me.
Whether it ends up being two weeks, two months, or two years, I know I’ll find my next step — and when I do, I’ll be ready for it. What’s important is that we can be there to support each other through this transition to an entirely new stage of life.
When “Shift Happens” to so many of us at the same time, we can find ways to talk about it, to prepare for it, and, most of all, work together to create a brighter future for those who come after us.
Shift Happens — it’s my new motto. Maybe it’s your motto, too?
Are you part of this big demographic and cultural shift? Are you no longer young but decades from being old?
Send the “Shift Happens” e-card and start the conversation:
http://action.encore.org/send-an-e-card
For more information, visit:
www.civicventures.org
www.encore.org/thebigshift