The Third Age: Time to Dream and Fulfill
Yosef Horowitz and Moshe Shafer celebrated their Bar Mitzvah at ages 79 and 83 (respectively), Shira Netzer became a recognized sculptor at 70, and I went on a 'post-army trip' after age 60. What connects us all? Fulfilling dreams in the third age. It is not only possible, it is also desirable and worthwhile. From experience.
"About six years ago I retired. I felt then that a significant chapter in my life had ended, and I did not imagine that the most significant journey of my life would begin then," says Shira Netzer, a sculptor and artist. "After retiring, I started studying sculpture, through which I discovered a new language: of material, movement, pain, hope, and healing. Every creation I sculpted under my hands was also a stage in my personal recovery journey. At first, I created many works as part of 'My Life's Journey in Movement - To Healing Art', which were displayed in homes and exhibitions. Later, the work 'Rower to Peace' was born, which looks beyond the now to the universal sphere, to the possibility of a softer world, and I am excited that it has been invited to be displayed in Berlin, Budapest, and Vienna. It is never too late to start a new chapter in life."
Netzer is just one of the examples of those of us in the third age who seek to fulfill an old or new dream and close open circles. One of the most beautiful and inspiring stories in this context is the story of Harland David "Colonel" Sanders, an American businessman who founded the fast-food chain KFC. Sanders, born in 1890, opened a gas station in Kentucky when he was 39, which also provided food to travelers, and after that, he opened a cafe. When he was 66, the cafe closed due to the construction of a fast interstate interchange at the site, and he found himself going between restaurants to sell his spice recipe. In his white suit, which was his trademark, and in a black string tie, he cooked meals for work crews. When he was 62, he opened the first branch of KFC. Two years later, following the success, he sold his company in exchange for two million dollars, but remained on the company's board of directors and became its trademark. He passed away at the age of 90 and was buried in his white suit and black tie.
Another example of things that remained open in the third age are those who, for various reasons, did not celebrate a Bar Mitzvah, and at an older age, they get to have a "late Bar Mitzvah". Thus, for example, Yosef Horowitz, a Holocaust survivor, celebrated a Bar Mitzvah about six years ago at the age of 79. The celebration for him was organized by students of the "Mehubarim" project of the ORT Givat Ram College in Jerusalem, as part of a social involvement program at the school. To the moving event held at the synagogue at the school, besides the school's educational community, other Holocaust survivors from the school project and, of course, his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren arrived. The excited Horowitz thus fulfilled a dream. Also Moshe Shafer, one of the veteran residents of Eilat, did not celebrate a Bar Mitzvah at its time for various reasons. When he was 83, Shafer celebrated the late Bar Mitzvah at the Chabad House in the city, and was called to the Torah for the first time in his life, accompanied by family members and friends and the Rabbi of Eilat, Rabbi Yosef Hecht.
In the same context, a few years ago I met a woman who was then about 80 years old. She shared her personal story with me, and how she threw herself a surprise party at age 60. "I was born in a kibbutz, my parents divorced when I was about two years old, and they never celebrated my own birthday there. After I married and started a wonderful family, I still continued to dream that they would throw me a surprise party on one of my birthdays. When I realized it wouldn't happen, I organized a party for myself from A to Z. I chose the place, the guests, the menu, even some of the blessings were written by me." "Surprised?" I asked. "Certainly, until the last moment I didn't believe they would come," she replied through tears.
Yes. One of the fascinating topics is the ability of people in the third age to continue to dream and fulfill their aspirations. In many cases, age is not only not an obstacle, but on the contrary, it is an opportunity for self-development and new experiences, each in the field close to their heart. This is how they find new meaning that is important at this age, certainly after retirement, this is how they become an inspiration and a model for their environment. If I may, personally, I also fulfilled an old dream just before retirement age, a "post-army trip" that I never did. At the age of 65, I went on a trek in Nepal together with a wonderful group of people, all after they had retired. I covered heights and landscapes, not one night and not two did I sleep in freezing cold, without attached toilets and without hot water, but I set myself a challenge and met it. Was I afraid? Definitely. Was it worth it? Also definitely. I returned with the feeling that there is no mountain too high when you want, at any age, that I "did it". So if you have reached the third age and in your bag lies an old dream that you have not yet fulfilled, or if a new dream has popped up that you feel burning in your body and soul, now is the time. Go for it. The ability to listen to inner dreams and act to fulfill them is a gear that pushes forward and reminds that one should not let fears paralyze in this case. Even if the expression sounds worn out, it proves itself every time anew: it is never too late.
