I have been wondering about stages of life and common feelings at ages past 65. There can come times of confusion and disorientation. The author Richard Bolles has a book "The Three Boxes of Life", referring to childhood and education, working and retirement. These are not necessarily fixed. Some children in the world have work lives without much childhood and education. Some people never retire or get to do so.
But for many people, there is retirement and with it, can come upset and new thinking as well as new problems. In our society, it is not unusual for people to feel themselves worthwhile if they are "busy" and "busy" can definitely mean employed in a paying job. But around age 65 or so, it may be that retirement beckons. At about the same time, one may feel they can see to the end of life. It is natural to ask questions and to apply common sense and critical thinking to nearly everything one does, has done and thinks about.
So, philosophical, religious, political and social stances might be up for questioning. With more time to think and more experience of inquiry, ideas and allegiances that never were questioned before can somewhat abruptly seem doubtful. One's own history, the history of the country and the history of humankind as well as of all of life and the planet can be scrutinized. With leisure and today's search engines, as well as library assistance, new views and long-accepted explanations can arise, clash and confuse.
I advise anyone suddenly beset by questions to take a look at the book "Factfulness" by the recently deceased Swedish professor of health. The book can be a shocker. Bill Gates recently recommended it as "one of the most important books" he had ever read.
By the time one reaches an age of retirement, there is a very good chance that large sections of one's education are firmly out of date. New research methods, tools and approaches are popping up in every field. Don't be too surprised if you find that much of what you thought you knew begins to feel untenable. Giving yourself a new education can be daunting but also vitalizing.
