Weekly Writing Challenge: The Golden Years
“All theory, dear friend, is gray, but the golden tree of life springs ever green.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Weekly Writing Challenge: The Golden Years – Wisdom
Wiki/Dictionary.com does not provide a word origin but notes the phrase emerged in the 1950s. Unconfirmed sources say that Merrill Lynch Investments used the phrase in an advertising campaign. The traditional golden anniversary occurs at 50 years of marriage, a mark that few couples would have seen prior to the 1950s, and golden years might bring up thoughts of people of sufficient age to have a golden anniversary, which would then imply people over about 65 or 70 years.
Everything Changes
As the cycle of life ends
Golden Parachutes…
The wisdom of age
Measured words of compassion
As the twilight dawns…
What are the Golden Years? Have you ever wondered where the term Golden Years originated from? The blockqoute above tells us. However, when I think of Golden Years, I imagine being bathed in light as I lollygag on a private beach. After years of serving our fellow men and women, the fortunate amongst us might get a golden watch or parachute – a way to retire in style. It was an important rite of passage and all working folk looked forward to it. Nowadays, most don’t. The world of work has changed.
Alas, in our modern disposable world, the elderly get shoved to the side as all things new, youthful and glittery replace them. Our young billionaires are under 40 and have a different perspective on the world of work. For any of us who choose to not learn new things and instead, hold unto old ways and habits, the train of technological advancement speeds by. We must stay motivated to keep up our pace with the changing world. We are never too young or old to learn new skills or imagine something better and golden so, I choose not to despair…
“Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.” Henry Miller
Weekly Writing Challenge: The Golden Years – Retired
A beginner’s mind
Wise choice for retirement
The passage of time
We waste time whining
The bell tolls, Life passes by
We search for lost time
When I was young, my parents were vibrant and busy. They seemed invincible, immortal and, like every child, I imagined them living forever. My Dad passed away before he could slow down enough to enjoy his golden years. My Mom met hers in a way she would have never imagined or wished for. So while some of us imagine elderly life in shimmering gold, and others view aging as a joyful or sad event, what remains inevitable is that we will all – AGE – and eventually pass away.
How else can we define the golden years? I see the golden years as a gift; a time to reflect on how we served others; on how we loved our family and friends; on how we forgave ourselves for our mistakes; and how we helped strangers. Then we can sit back and enjoy the warmth and love of those around us… glowing in the light that shines from our hearts.
More Below!
“No American should ever have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies.” President Obama
Weekly Writing Challenge: The Golden Years – Experienced
Age; just a number
Series of planted milestones
In physical shifts
Love your Golden Years
Cultivate peace and wisdom
Make friends with your mind…
So how have you planned for your golden years? Are you ready for the coming of a new dawn in your life? One thing I know for sure is that those who have learned to be grateful for what is, have little room for regrets. If we cultivate peace in our lives and make friends with our mind; leave the negativity and meanness at the door of forgiveness, our golden years will shimmer and glow and, no matter what life serves us to taunt us, peace will meet us at our front door.
This post was inspired by Daily Prompt. Weekly Writing Challenge: Golden Years. For this week’s writing challenge, we’re asking you to explore what age means to you. Is it the loss of youth, or the cultivation of wisdom? Do things get better as you grow older, or worse? There are many ways to interpret age, often depending on your relationship with the passing of time.
For More: Women’s Lives & Issues
Positive Motivation Tip: When I think of the Golden Years, I imagine being served a delicious meal as I lounge in a warm salt bath at an exquisite spa located in a beautiful mountains area far from the din of daily life… We are never too young or old to imagine. Go to it!
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos : via Wikipedia
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Trackbacks
- Weekly Writing Challenge: Golden Years | MythRider
- GOLDEN WHAT? | SERENDIPITY
- Maiden, Mother, Crone: all in one | ALIEN AURA'S BlOG: IT'LL BLOW YOUR MIND!
- Weekly writing challenge, the Golden years : It’s all Gold, a 95 word story | Challenged for Words
- DP Challenge – The Path | siobhanmcnamara
- The 18th of August 1941 – Germantown, Maryland | Forgotten Correspondence
- Us | Of love, life and such magic
- Centenary Sparkle | litadoolan
- Weekly Writing Challenge – Golden Years | Joe's Musings
- The Elders of Us | Wired With Words
My husband and I always talk about retiring to Florida and becoming greeters at Disney World. It’s probably gonna happen, too 🙂
I can see you giving tours of all the museums and nooks and crannies at Disney World too. 😆
I want to get in on that too! My husband and I would love that!
This is a very lovely post. I often hope that my Golden Years will be wonderful.
Amen to that and so it shall be. I wish more us would see the blessing in aging gracefully and managing our health and worries.
I am in my Golden Years and the golden years are NOW!! I think as we grow older we get better in some things and worse in others.
That is true and how we turn out has a lot to do with our choices, our spirit, our power of forgiveness… You look fabulous Terry. Good for you!
I think in addition to making friends with my mind I will also make peace with my body. lol!!
I so get that one too… And Oprah said the same a few years ago in an interview… It resonated with me deeply. WE have to care for ourselves and make peace with the body we have; especially the aging body that is being pulled by gravity. TY! 😉
I wish you peace and tranquility in your Golden Years Eliz!
What a lovely post. I have a few years to go to my golden years, but I’m sure they will be grand.
A warm salt bath at an exquisite spa in a beautiful mountains area sounds amazing! Can I go there now?! lol!
These pictures are breathtaking! I also love the Henry Miller quote. I’m always honored to share in a conversation with an elderly person; the wisdom shines from their eyes.
I’m so sorry about your parents. I think it’s important that we slow down and appreciate the time we have. Every year should be a golden year!
Great post! I think at this point I will be spending my golden years slaving away at my desk still! My work keeps me going.
How interesting! I never really thought about what the Golden Years really are.
oh that first photo…. I love it. she has so much history in her eyes and face.
i’m going to have a lot of fun in this body, and I plan to just wear it out doing so.
I’m hoping our Golden Years are full of peace and relaxation. I will need both of those with the way these two boys can test me sometimes! 🙂
Great post! I hope my golden years are filled with family, love and traveling.
I hope my golden years are filled with happiness, family and traveling. Oh and good health too!
I love the quote about every moment being Golden. How true!
What an amazing post! I have a long way to go until I hit my golden years
I hope in my golden years, I’m able to relax and just enjoy life. My parents are doing a great job of just that.
I like to use a line from “stepbrothers”… when you’re of age, mom, I’m putting you in a home…
I need to make peace with my body-we fight alot. lol Our lives do turn out the way it does because of our choices.
Your writing is an inspiration to me.
I’m awarding you with The Best Moment Blog Award.
Your blog is on my list of Best Moment blog nominees.
To see it, go to:
http://swimintheadultpool.com/2014/03/09/getting-the-best-moment-blog-award/
Copy the badge and have fun giving the award to others.
Congrats,
~ CeeLee
Thank you so much… You are so kind. Will stop by and thank you formally on your blog. 🙂
And The Adult Pool~
(I really didn’t think that name through before I chose it)
will welcome you 😉
~CeeLee
The I Have Award And Am Dancin’ Queen
This is a great writing! I’m looking forward to my golden years. Age is just a number. If we eat healthy and exercise, we can age gracefully and enjoy life as we get older.
Other than saving and saving and saving, I haven’t really made plans for the future. I guess I’ll just take it as it comes.
I’m making plenty of plans but haven’t starter saving yet! I emptied out my 401(k) when we bought our home and my husband went back to college!
I believe age is just a number. And it really depends on how you approach the obstacles in life as to whether things get better or worse. Some people learn and some people do not. My husband and I realized that when we had our first son that we did not want to live to work our entire life, so we sold everything and moved to Florida so that we could take our kids to the beach and Disney as much as we wanted!
My golden years are at my doorstep. Most days I don’t feel any different, but it crosses my mind. I want them to be peaceful, and yet productive. I believe when you do what you love retirement isn’t an option, so I will never just sit in a rocker and veg.
Making peace is key, isn’t it? My father-in-law us 95 and truly hasn’t lived in years. I believe his anger, from over 80 years ago, is what fuels him. It’s so damn sad.
Good post!
b
Okay, this is a prompt I will have to join you on because age is something I’ve really been thinking a lot about lately. It might take me a few days but I am going to do it!
I wish more people would cherish the older and wiser versus shoving them to the side. There is so much we could learn from the older generation! We definitely need to show some respect to those in their golden years!
Many people are shy about their age. I think we should all appreciate the years we have lived this life. We are really blessed to have lived more than what others did. Golden years should be appreciated rather than ridiculed.
Ahh…the Golden years. I only hope and pray that my husband and I are both healthy enough to enjoy them vs. spending 2 days out of the week at a Dr.’s office or at the pharmacy filling prescriptions. 🙂 Honestly though…I watched my parents enjoy their golden years together. It’s a beautiful thing.
I hadn’t thought a TON about what I’ll do in the “golden years”, but my boyfriend have brought up the idea of moving back to New Zealand onto a beachfront and living the simple life. Also, Robin’s idea doesn’t sound so bad!
I think the Golden Years are more golden if we’re surrounded by people who appreciate and love us. I see older people revered in some places, and ignored, ridiculed, or scorned in others. The latter is very sad, and always gets to me any and every time I come across it.
Sweet faces of the golden years. I agree we all should at this time be at peace with who we are and what our body looks like!
The expression “golden years” reminds me of something from the Bible where it says your later days will be better than your younger days.
I love gleaning wisdom from my grandparents. They have so much to teach me.
My new part-time job is with an Adult Day Program …It feels funny at times that I am doing for them…and that I also could be ONE of them…
Thankful for where I am at in these Golden Years… Maybe because I’m getting nearer their age…makes me more aware of how I would like to be treated …so I treat them accordingly…
My grandmother is just entering those golden years and the wisdom she holds is inspiring. I look at her, knowing that I only know a fraction of what she’s gone through in her life, and hope to one day be half the person she is.
Lovely post and great quotes. I have a lot of years to go before my golden years, but I hope they are filled with family, friends, happiness and lots of laughter.
I agree age is not just a number! I look forward to the Golden Years!
I always assumed that the golden years were those few years between having “grown” children and then declining health. I’m looking forward to the golden years 🙂
Beautifully said! I’m looking forward to my golden years and just enjoying life and everything I have learned. Age is really just a number!
I’m on a constant grind that I never just sit and think about the golden years. Sad but true. Thanks for this!
This is a great post. I love the pictures. You chose well!
Thank you Stacie! I appreciate the feedback. 🙂
I am so sorry that you lost your parents at such a young age. I hope I am blessed to live a long, happy life!
Thank you Amy! My mom is still alive but had a massive stroke and didn’t recover from it. I wish more people would stop and think about the blessings we enjoy in our lives. We all experience challenges and, while some of us choose to not talk about them publicly, I find that looking for the good in situations helps us move forward. The golden years are a blessing especially if we have health and our faculties intact.
I used to want to retire to Rome, now I just want to retire into grand-parenthood, I am 55 and my son is almost 11. That is my dream!
I think about age a lot! As I’m getting closer and closer to 40, I’m so happy with where my life is now. I just wish I could stop the clock and stay right where I am!
I think the Golden Years can be pretty amazing years! I watch my grandma and how she lives her life – she’s way busier doing everything she loves. I love it!
I fear the golden years.. hoping for good health for all.. But our job in our golden years is to continue to teach the younger ones.. hopefully they will listen.
I have never really thought about the Golden Years and its meaning. As long as I am blessed to live to see them I will be sure to enjoy them!
Great post. I am planning to enjoy my Golden Years with family and friends. I try to enjoy each and every day leading up to that.
You are a beautiful writer. Thinking about what can happen in our older ages are hard but this is such an eye-opening way to look at it. Thanks for sharing.
I think the beach in my golden years sounds awesome! The beach sounds good right now!
In age, there is wisdom. Age should not be something to be ashamed of. It is something to be cherished and celebrated. 🙂
What a great post with such a profound message on so many levels. thank you for sharing
In my golden years I would love to retire somewhere warm! Loved this post.
Great post. I am a nurse at a nursing home and I do see so many elderly forgotten about. They cannot keep up with this fast paced world we live in so they seem to get put aside. These people have had amazing lives that we could learn so much from.
I worry about my parents when they hit retirement age (along with myself!). It is a scary and unknown future.
Cherish being older. It’s a hard time too as all your friends and loved ones begin to move on. 🙁
I think making it to the golden years is a gift. Many in my family has passed away young. The golden years should be celebrated as a life well lived.
Love the take on golden years as a gift. Great perspective.
Thank you Lita! We live in a society that sometimes treats aging like a disease. It is a blessing.
Those images are so powerful. They really brought to life your post. Aging is hard, I hope to do it gracefully.
This is a beautiful post. I live in Florida now so we will spend our Golden years here watching sunsets on the beach 🙂
I look forward to spending my golden years with my hubby. We are working hard now so we dont have to then!
I’m getting closer and closer to the golden years. I’m really looking forward to them!
we talk about what kind of grandparents we’re gonna be all the time. hopefully it doesn’t happen anytime soon though.
I’m a long way from my golden years, but I do hope I’m surrounded by my family and little ones running around.
This was a pretty great post. I say I don’t want to hit the golden years too soon but with age comes experience and lots of wisdom so I hope to embrace it when it comes.
Reblogged this on Deanna Greens and Garden Art and commented:
This is written by a fellow WordPress blogger, who captured come thoughts, wise words, poetry, and photos about aging and those golden years.
I have reblogged this lovely post. I have so many friends and family entering the “golden years.” Your thoughts are creatively written. Thank you for sharing!
Thank You For Sharing. Nicely Written Blog, retweeted!