Golden Years of Baby Boomers – Eastern Wisdom for Life’s Third Act
Girish Jha, Coach and Guide, Eastern Wisdom . Blog for Baby Boomers
The Awakening
Janet stood at her kitchen window, coffee in hand, watching the sunrise paint the sky. After decades of ambitious career-building, raising children, and caring for aging parents, she found herself in an unfamiliar landscape – one with more time, fewer responsibilities, and a persistent question: “What now?”
“These are your golden years,” her meditation teacher had told her when she confessed her restlessness. “Now is the time for self-discovery and to find out who I am.”
Like many of us entering life’s third act, Janet had spent decades focused outward – on achievements, relationships, and responsibilities. She had checked all the boxes of success yet found herself wondering why satisfaction remained elusive. Eastern Wisdom offers a compelling explanation for this common experience and, more importantly, a roadmap for the journey ahead.
The Two Wings: Happiness and Wisdom
Eastern Wisdom traditions often use the metaphor of a bird with two wings to present the journey of self-discovery. One wing represents happiness – the joy, energy, and vitality we naturally seek. The other wing represents knowledge of the principles of Eastern Wisdom applied the clear understanding that guides our direction.
“Happiness is the wing that lifts us with joy and energy,” explains one Eastern teaching, “and Wisdom is the wing that steers us in the right direction. Both are essential for our journey.”
Many of us have spent our lives focusing primarily on the happiness wing, seeking joy through career success, material possessions, family achievements, and social recognition. We’ve mistakenly believed that accumulating more of these external sources of pleasure would eventually lead to lasting satisfaction.
But as we enter our 60s and beyond, many of us notice something important: satisfaction from these external achievements keeps fading, requiring ever-new pursuits to maintain the same level of pleasure. This is what Eastern traditions call “the vicious circle” – a cycle of seeking, briefly finding, and then losing happiness in the external world.
Breaking the Cycle of External Seeking
“The mind has created a cycle, and it wants to move into that cycle,” explains teaching from the Vedantic tradition. “The first point of the cycle is the initial contact and sensation. I like this food. Imaginary sensation. Mind is pushing me to contact that.”
This process happens with possessions, relationships, achievements, and recognition. We experience pleasure when we first obtain what we desire, but inevitably, that pleasure fades. Then, rather than recognizing this pattern, we project the remembered pleasure forward, creating new cravings.
Bob, a retired executive who had built and sold multiple companies, described his awakening moment: “I was sitting in my dream home, with the luxury car in the garage and the vacation property paid off, when it hit me – I was still wanting more. I realized I was on a treadmill that would never end unless I changed my approach.”
The wisdom traditions tell us that this cycle occurs because we’re looking in the wrong direction. The fulfillment we seek isn’t found in the external world but in reconnecting with our true nature – what some traditions call our “real self” or pure consciousness.
From Controller to Mentor: Transforming Family Relationships
One of the most challenging – and potentially rewarding – areas for applying this Wisdom is in family relationships, particularly with adult children.
A 70-year-old woman in a wisdom class described her transformation: “Initially, when I was younger, I picked up a job, and I was busy earning money. Then I got married, had kids, and was taking care of my husband and children. Later, I took care of my parents. Now what?”
Her teacher responded, “Now is the time for self-discovery. You don’t have any responsibility. Instead of expecting your kids, start giving. What to give? Your mentorship, your guidance.”
This shift from receiving to giving represents a fundamental application of Wisdom. Rather than expecting our adult children to fulfill our needs for attention, approval, or validation, we can offer them the benefit of our experience without attachment to the outcome.
“Never say that the kids of this age are doing the same thing,” the teaching continues. “No, you listen and learn from them, and then you mentor them. Have an attitude of giving – that is Wisdom.”
This perspective doesn’t mean abandoning appropriate boundaries or enabling unhealthy behavior. Rather, it means recognizing that our happiness no longer depends on controlling outcomes or receiving recognition. We’re free to offer our Wisdom without attachment, creating space for authentic connection.
Mangalacharan: Creating Sacred Space in Daily Life
One powerful practice from Eastern wisdom traditions is Mangalacharan – creating (or, more accurately, entering) sacred space. This practice can transform how we approach each day during this phase of life.
“Mangalacharan, the literal translation, is creating a sacred space,” the teaching explains. “Then our masters say no, you don’t create it, you enter into the sacred space. Why? Because it is already there.” But you need to learn it from a teacher of Eastern Wisdom.
This subtle but profound distinction mirrors our journey in the third act of life. We don’t need to create fulfillment from scratch – we need to remove the obstacles to experiencing the peace and contentment that are already our nature.
Try this simple practice each morning:
- Upon waking, close your eyes and remember you are beginning a day of self-discovery
- Acknowledge that you are moving from the false to the real, from ignorance to Wisdom
- Invite a sense of gratitude that you have this precious time for inner exploration
- Remember that all actions, thoughts, and feelings belong to something greater than yourself
Regular application of this practice gradually shifts your awareness from seeking to finding, from accumulating to recognizing.
The LIBERATE Model: A Practical Approach
- Loving your real self
- Investigating points of attachment
- Breaking the identification with the false self
- Eliminating delusion and misconception
- Relaxing into awareness
- Aspiring toward higher truth
- Transcending limitations
- Embodying Wisdom in daily life
Creating Your Legacy of Wisdom
The most meaningful opportunity of life’s third act is the chance to distill and share the Wisdom you’ve gathered through decades of experience. Not by lecturing or controlling, but by exemplifying a way of being that younger generations can witness.
“We all have rich experiences in our own field,” the teacher explains. “Why shouldn’t we use them – not directing, not creating a rift, but presenting ourselves as a guide? That is also part of Satsang (the company of the real).”
This legacy of Wisdom – sharing not just what you know but how you’ve learned to be – may ultimately prove more valuable than any material inheritance you leave behind.
A Question for Reflection
Consider this: What patterns of seeking external fulfillment have followed you throughout your life? Which of these patterns are you ready to recognize and release as you enter this golden period of self-discovery?
The Journey Continues
The journey into your third act isn’t about abandoning life’s pleasures or withdrawing from relationships. It’s about experiencing these aspects of life from a profoundly different center – one that recognizes lasting fulfillment comes not from what we acquire or achieve but from recognizing our true nature.
What awaits in this discovery is not just personal peace. Still, the opportunity to offer something precious to those around you – the example of a life lived with both wings, happiness, and Wisdom, working in perfect harmony.
This article draws upon Eastern wisdom traditions, including Vedanta, Yoga philosophy, and contemplative practices that have guided seekers for thousands of years.
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