Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Transition Update - Reconciling To The Physical

2018 is drawing to a close. We have finished our experiment in the unplanned driving trip. We have a very busy first half of 2019 with many different kinds of travel experiences in store. As is always the case after one of our trips, I have the hardest time getting back into a blogging rhythm.

During the road trip as we dealt with a variety of challenges, I took stock as I often do of where I was in this transition process. There was a time not too long ago where I felt that I had finally reached an equilibrium, that the process of evolving from the state known as 'full-time working' to the 'not sure what I call it, post full-time working, semi-retired, transitioned' space was complete. This was in large part because of the beautiful balance in terms of enjoyment and time developed between what is left of work and travel.

But this year has brought on a new player that has cried out to be fully included in the transition process calculation - physical deterioration. It is not that this is really a new player. In fact I think physical deterioration issues were much more a problem in my 50's and 60's than they are now. I've managed to reduce the ill effects of a number of them. But this last trip really screamed out to Wife and I that it is going to be harder and harder for us to travel the way we want or for that matter do things at home the way we want.

However, I will also say that from a mental standpoint this realization is much less traumatic than were the issues of my 50's and 60's. Why is that? I think it is that I have accepted deterioration as a fact of life (which I did not when I was younger) and that both physically and mentally I just deal with it. This takes form in a couple of ways.

One is an acceptance of pain as a fact of life. I used to use all kinds of pain-killers to try and deal with the pain of my various ailments. I have substituted a number of homeopathic remedies that have certainly brought some relief. But in large part, I just accept that the pain is there. It is the same with my tinnitus - ringing in my ears - it's just there. No need to get upset. It just is. Same with reflux and a number of other issues.

The second is a realization that accommodation has now become habitual. When I get in our out of a car, I do it in a way that does not aggravate various joint and muscle issues. I don't even think about it. I just do it. And there are examples of this all through my daily life.

Now one might say, "This is really depressing." I look at if different. I say it is a means of accepting reality in a manner that allows me to continue to do as much of what I love to do. And I look forward to continuing to adjust and adapt to the reality of aging in the same way.




3 comments:

Renee Michelle Goertzen said...

Thanks for sharing. This is something we all will face, but younger people don't think about it very much.

alexis said...

I always feel mixed emotions about this topic. I know life is finite but it is hard to reconcile that someone you love will not be there always. :(

Tee said...

You seem to have an extremely healthy acceptance of your physical state of existence at this point in life. I never really thought about it until reading this post, but the world tells us to fight the aging process is every possible way. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if there's no level of acceptance for that which we can't change, it's going to be really hard to keep a positive mindset.

I think you're onto something here!