Hi, Boomers,
How’yr feeling?
I read an article today that quoted statistics that over eighty percent of baby boomers are pessimistic about the current direction of the United States, according to the Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends study released Monday. Who can blame them with retirement and pension funds shrinking and with the unemployment rate near 10%. The study says that boomers have reported less overall life satisfaction during their adulthood than have previous generations. One-fifth of baby boomers believe their standard of living is lower than their parents’. And about a third expect their children to experience an even lower standard of living.
We are a a rather depressed generation at this moment. We are mostly feeling blue because we lost about 20% to 30% of our investments and 401(K)s. Most boomers figure they have to defer retirement even though Wall Street seems to be staging a comeback. You might think there is another bubble in the works the way the market shot up last year?
But folks between the ages of 50 and 55 are fearful of losing their jobs. What ever happened to middle and upper management positions? Whatever happened to manufacturing in the good old US of A. And the boomers over 55 and advancing to 60, well, good luck because if anyone is going to be hired, it’s going to be younger, more part-time people who work cheaper. Well, I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know except that did you know you were somehow depressed about this situation and probably suffering from anxiety and stress? Oh, you knew that already, too?
So as Stan says to Ollie: “We’re in a fine kettle of fish, Ollie? What are we going to do, now?” Ollie, who knows less than Stan, hits Stan over the head with his hat and that’s his answer to the question of what they are going to do. It’s always the answer to what they are going to do. There’s no way out for them.
But even with our backs against the wall sometimes, we’ve got to keep on truckin’. Because “We are creatures of faith, victims of destiny, which we create.”
So, finally, in the end, it’s all about the human experience, don’t you know. Thanks, Ziggy Marley.
Do you know what I’m talking about? If not, let’s think about taking it to a higher vibration. That’s the way we liberate our life, get out of the rut, move through the resistance, for we are creatures of love and we’ve got to keep on living because we’ve got lots to be thankful for. And that’s the higher vibration.
I was taking a long walk in the snow yesterday; in fact, there was a steady drizzle of snow and I was trudging up a hill listening to Ziggy Marley. I heard the line: “Perfection of divinity is everyone’s duty. Don’t waste your times living for the vanities.” And then Ziggy says, “I know you know what I’m talking about. It’s our human existence we’re talking about.” I was riveted to the lyrics of the song, “Higher Vibration.” I loved the message because it was all about gratitude and love. Let the others of the world get those big Wall Street bonuses and buy another house in the Hamptons and and spend their money on bigger cars and art and all those other vanities. Our higher vibration is about perfecting our divinity, saving our own souls, living an honorable life with a generosity of spirit and a sense of forgiveness.
When the snowflakes came down, when the wetness hit my face, when the sound of the music and the message came into my consciousness, I knew we’d be all right and my children and my grandchildren would live a good life, maybe without so much money, maybe with more happiness and maybe on a higher vibration.
Namaste
Joan