In this episode, Lee Gale Gruen reflects on the importance of purpose in retirement and how it can profoundly shape well-being and quality of life. Drawing from personal experience, she shares how engaging in a senior acting program not only brought joy and meaning to her own life but also helped her father remain active, connected, and fulfilled in his later years. Lee highlights how structured activities and community programs can replace the sense of identity and routine once provided by work or family responsibilities. She emphasizes that without purpose, retirees can feel isolated and disengaged, while meaningful activities foster better physical, emotional, and social health. The video also underscores the broader value retirees bring to society as mentors, volunteers, and contributors—making a compelling case for both individual purpose and continued societal support.
Lee Gale Gruen is a regular Podcast contributor for The Transitions Network. She is an actress, author, speaker, and blogger. She focuses on how retirees can customize their retirement to fit their own personalities, interests, and comfort level.
WEBSITE: https://leegalegruen.com
EMAIL: gowergulch@yahoo.com
BLOG: “Reinventing Yourself in Your Retirement Years”:https://leegalegruen.wordpress.com
BOOKS ON AMAZON.COM:
“Reinventing Yourself in Your Retirement Years: Find Joy, Excitement, and Purpose After You Retire” https://tinyurl.com/33x9vmcx
“Adventures with Dad: A Father and Daughter’s Journey Through a Senior Acting Class” https://tinyurl.com/5d3yycjw
Click to see the Full Transcript
Neil Rerup (00:02.232)
Hello, welcome or welcome back. The vast majority of retirees nowadays are baby boomers and seniors. That defined me when I retired from my 37-year career as a probation officer. I heard about a local program which offered classes for seniors. I was soon enrolled in an acting class, an endeavor I had never pursued in my life.
Within a short time, my 85-year-old father, recently widowed, came to class with me. For three years, we attended weekly, performing in our class showcases twice a year on stage in front of a live audience. It brought joy and purpose to our lives. It helped my father stay happy, healthy, and active, rather than being a burden on his family and society.
It changed my life completely, launching me into an acting career. I came to realize how vital and valuable senior community programs are. I advocate for them whenever possible, as I am proof of their benefits. Such programs fill the gap for retirees that employment or child rearing used to occupy. They give them a purpose.
empowering them to take better care of themselves and thus have fewer medical problems. Without a sense of purpose, retirees feel alienated, depressed, and worthless. The funding for senior programs is often cut when times are hard and the economy is bad. The argument that giving money to senior programs takes money from education of our children
is specious. One should have nothing to do with the other. If senior community programs are lumped under a bundle called education and that argument persists, then they should be transferred to a new and separately funded category called something like the Department of Senior Enrichment. Government agencies are looking for ways to save money.
Neil Rerup (02:28.054)
Senior programs seem like a perfect target. Why not? What’s so important about senior community programs anyway?
Let’s take a look at what retirees contribute to society. They are not just elderly people to be put out to pasture. Retirees offer many things. They pass down the family and societal history. They are caretakers. They are role models. They are the guardians of wisdom and experience. Of the sensibility of society. Societies stewards.
Just take a look at most of the members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives and even the American president.
Social. Many retirees are at a point in their lives when they are able and willing to give back to the community. They constitute the bulk of volunteers at places like hospitals, parks, museums, schools, police departments, and the like. Many of our institutions cannot afford to hire enough staff. They couldn’t function without volunteers. Retirees have the time,
interest and enthusiasm. Economic. Retirees form a huge demographic. They control vast amounts of wealth, which translate into purchasing power of significant quantities of goods and services. Political. Retirees form a huge voting bloc. They are a demographic which should be pursued and courted.
Neil Rerup (04:17.283)
by businesses and politicians, not ignored. Society should support our senior programs and not relinquish so easily, something we may never be able to reclaim. Retirees have a major impact on our society socially, economically, and politically. Just as we spend time, energy, and resources on our children, we must spend the same on our retirees.
I’m LeGail Gruen. I hope you’ll visit me again here on my podcast, Retirement Made to Order, hosted by the Transitions Network. I will be posting a new podcast twice a week. Feel free to contact me if you want to comment on any of my podcasts. You’ll find my email address in the information that follows or in the description at the beginning of this podcast.
along with links to my website, my blog, and my two books on Amazon.com. Goodbye for now.