Activities and Interests in Life as a Senior Citizen

Now-a-days people retire from their work and not life. Gone are the days when retirement from job or service meant retirement from life and looking at the remaining years as the fag ends that just needed to be lived without any zeal and zest. It has turned the other way round. Simply put, starting life anew in the world to live the present life. There is option to lead the rest of their life alone, in a nuclear family or as an elderly member of a joint family. One may join N.G.O. or other social activist circle in voluntary or honorary service. One can continue in his own profession, in private sector where there is no age bar or in public sector where the age bar is extended up to sixty-five years in certain services on regular basis or contractual engagement. Alternatively, having retired from job or service after the age of 60 years with adequate financial security and the primary responsibilities of getting children educated & making them self-sufficient duly accomplished ; one can develop innovative life-style as a Senior Citizen.

Living in the past memories alone is to stay inactive. In order to stay active, one must find new interests; create within him a love for life; must not be content to simply watch life move on; rather he must be willing to take part in it. Anyone of us can stir up a new spirit of interest and enthusiasm within. If one starts to think of himself as being too old to make a new start, this is merely an excuse. One may take up a hobby, call up old friends or relatives, start writing a blog or journal, learn a new art or technology, lead a spiritual life or involve oneself in all other activities one wanted to do, but could not do due to a genuine lack of time before retirement.

Three years back, I retired from the post of Chief District Medical Officer Bargarh Orissa on attaining the age of superannuation i.e. 60 years of age on February 29, 2008. After retirement, I and my wife preferred to stay in a joint family with our offspring than to stay as a nuclear family at our native place in our old age for better physical, mental and emotional support in a joint family set up. After residing in Gurgaon Haryana (N.C.R. Delhi) for about one year, we relocated to Bangalore Karnataka where we are residing  at present.

In my post retirement life, I sought for new life style. I was attracted towards Spiritual philosophy of Sadguru Sai Baba in my mental, emotional and intellectual planes; and I became a Shirdi Sai devotee on October 14, 2008. I resorted to Yoga practices to maintain my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health; and I became a Yoga practitioner since July 28, 2009. I desired to express and share my thoughts on Yoga and Spirituality in writing independently as an Author; and I created my own blog Yoga and Spirituality on May 2, 2010. I developed the hobby and habit to read articles published in journals, magazines and blogs in internet; read and analyse scriptures and texts on Yoga and Spirituality for acquiring knowledge and skill; and communicating to like-minded people in writing articles based on my knowledge and experience. Moreover, I had to acquire the knowledge and skill of information technology at the age of sixty plus for drafting, editing and publishing an article as an author of a blog. Almost all my old friends & colleagues with whom I had worked during my service period and tech-savvy cousins & relatives have become  readers of my blog and some of them are actively taking part in discussion of different articles posted in the blog from time to time as comment authors. Moreover I have been able to create a new circle of friends by personal contact as a Yoga practitioner and as a Shirdi Sai devotee as well as through social networking in form of readers, viewers and comment authors of my blog Yoga and Spirituality. I have made it a hobby to call and give message to my friends both old & new over phone and communicating with them by mails at casual intervals. I enjoy visiting my relatives` house and get-togetherness of my old friends and colleagues during my vacation trip to Orissa.

Through expression of my past and present experience in my writings and personal interactions, I am able to connect my past with the present and maintaining a continuous flow of life.

Dr. Mahesh Chandra Panda

Bangalore