In this episode, Lee Gale explores how animals can offer a powerful and often overlooked lesson in managing stress and finding calm in the second half of life. Drawing from a personal experience visiting an animal rescue, she reflects on how time spent with animals can help quiet the noise of daily obligations and restore perspective. As life’s pressures continue into retirement, she suggests that simple interactions with animals—whether pets or brief encounters—can provide a natural, healthy way to reset emotionally, reduce stress, and reconnect with a more balanced state of mind.
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 Full Transcript
Lee Gale Gruen (00:01.176)
Hello, welcome or welcome back to my podcast, Retirement Made to Order. I’ve written about animals many times. I do so because animals are the ultimate stress reducers. Retirees can often find themselves under stress for similar reasons that applied when they were younger. The problem is that as we age,
We don’t roll with the punches as well as we might have in our younger years. So we can use all the stress reducers we can get. Some years ago, I went on a day trip to visit an unusual animal rescue compound in Southern California. They had a variety of animals, including miniature donkeys. I never even knew such a creature existed.
The full grown mini donkeys came up to my waist. I also hung out with a Vietnamese pot bellied pig named princess. While I was scratching princess’s belly, curry combing a donkey, or petting a tortoise, I forgot all about my commitments, obligations, must do’s, and everything else in my life that stresses me out.
Many animals are by nature very calm, placid, easy going, and relaxed. Those terms may all mean the same, but I just couldn’t stop with the descriptors. When hanging around them, those qualities spill on to you. That’s why hospitals and other institutions often bring in animals to interact with the occupants. It’s therapeutic.
So it is so much better, cheaper, and has fewer negative consequences than many of the methods people use to reduce stress, such as alcohol, prescription medications, illegal drugs, smoking, and over caffeinated drinks. Because of the danger to our lives, health and happiness, we must reduce stress that life hands us to each one of us.
Lee Gale Gruen (02:26.773)
One method I’ve been using for years is exercise. When I’m working on the exercise machines at my gym, I’m concentrating on the workout and not on my stressors. Animals have that same effect on me. Since I don’t have an at-home pet in my life right now, I’m always going up to people walking their dogs to get my animal hit for the day. I ask the owner first if I can pet their dog.
Afterwards I always thank the dog and the owner for sharing. Try an animal hit, whether it be your neighbor’s dog, cat, or bird, or more exotic varieties, such as a pot bellied pig. Learn from them, let their calmness wash over you and accompany you throughout the day. Somehow it puts in perspective all of the little concerns we think are so important.
And that we allow to drain so much of our energy. I’m Lee Gail 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 new podcasts every 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.