Springtime, Again

SUN., APR. 6, 1997, 6:05 AM
FARM, STUDY

It is a windy morning, but the temperature here in your study is Spring-like, without the warmth of your old stove. Daylight saving time is inaugurated this morning, another way of knowing the Spring has sprung. And… it is the 45th anniversary of the wedding of you and Lenore, a union that I truly have blessed, from the beginning and on through the marriage.

Since this is your last semester of full-time teaching I can also refer to this as the Spring-time of your life of retirement. Your career has been a good, long one, developing just about as I wanted it to be… in relation to your field and the courses that evolved as yours, to your three “locations”, and to your national and local reputations. In the Southern Hemisphere it is Fall, and thus, symbolically, it is the Fall of your working career, here at Southern. But in the circular way I have taught you to think it also is the Spring-time of your retirement “career”. It is the commencement of a different rhythm in relation to your use of time and to human relationships.

This all shall develop, as Spring-time does, not necessarily with complete smoothness. You heard a warning about the possible return of cold air, which could damage young plants. You also saw evidence of blizzards in the north, not quite the smooth transition into Spring that you’d like to expect. In like fashion, your time of retirement may experience some fits and starts as it develops. You’ll want to be able to “do what you want to do, when you want to do it”, but you’ll also have to consider some new potential responsibilities and when to impose discipline upon yourself, as days go by. It will be both easy… and difficult… to do this.

You used to say (in the wisdom of youth) in your Stanford Marriage and Family class that marriages that lasted long were actually several different marriages, but just with the same two people, physically and apparently. Your marriage, now 45 years along, will be somewhat different now that your teaching and professional responsibilities dwindle or disappear. You shall no longer have that fine office as a sanctuary and work place. You and Lenore will be able to spend more time together. This must be approached carefully, so that a new, but sustainable, balance is achieved. To what extent and in what ways should you still have relatively separate lives, and in what ways should you be more together. (Your present to her, guiding the exercise of her healing leg, is a good one for more relationship. Follow through with this.)

The sun has now appeared in the eastern sky, at a more “reasonable” time. This means that the evenings will stay lighter longer, with more time for outdoor activities. There is still plenty of “early-morning time”. You can appreciate and utilize these long evenings as you establish your new rhythm.

Occasionally you have described your next phase of life as more like that of a monk. I want you to see this as retirement TO, as well as retirement FROM. It shall be retirement to a life less engaged with people and more engaged with spiritual ideas and solitary tasks. Discipline will be necessary to develop the best balance, but I want more contemplation and spiritual thought. It is a time of much, even excessive, communication of facts. You needn’t chase after these very often. Be less concerned with the “news of the day” and more with ideas that have importance beyond the moment, even beyond this earth life. Always remember that while this is the sunset of this life it is the sunrise of the next.