Talking with
a friend a few days ago about retirement (loving it!) brought up the subject of
the Florida retirement community The
Villages, and how that kind of living holds no appeal for me. Perpetually,
playing golf, cards, and various other ‘fun’ activities to take up time in
retirement is not my thing. My friend pointed out how people in a similar,
older Florida community near where she lives have developed a thriving metaphysical
community in the midst of their retirement village. Good point! Still, the
thought of homogenized living makes me feel claustrophobic. I like to see things
out of the ordinary and not too predictable. Where I currently live, I enjoy
the experience of colorful Rastafarians, hippie coffee shops, and people of all
races and persuasions, including roving bands of twenty-year olds (we don’t
live too far from UC Berkeley). I love
the clatter and creativity of young kids in the home and neighborhood in which
I live. My writing, dream and synchronicity work, and spirituality all thrive
on such diversity.
A few days
after our conversation, as meaningful coincidence would have it, I came across
something written in The Essential Guide
to The Tarot by David Fontana:
“One of the
most pressing needs as human beings is to find meaning and purpose in life […]
without it, life is no more than a random biological machine […] There is
always the sense that there must be more to life than passing the time as
pleasurable as possible, and that just beyond the horizon there is something
more important and ultimately more satisfying, which all too often we fail to
find. Modern research shows that the most affluent communities are far from
being the most contented […] We need to look for a spiritual dimension for our
fulfillment – to a deeper level of our being that contains the true secret of
our identity” (pp. 15 and 16).
Yes, it feels
good to have my feelings vindicated!
But, don’t
get me wrong. I’m not denigrating the thoughts and feelings of those who choose
a different lifestyle than that which works for me. As they say, and I do
believe, different strokes for different
blokes.
Signing off
by wishing folks in The Villages
their own personal ‘hole-in-one!’
Jenna
