(The metaphors for retirement are legion. Today I share one that sprang out of a coffee conversation with Rod Boriack (former ELCA colleague) and Rich Bimler (retired Wheatridge CEO and LCMS youth and older adult ministry guy). All three of us are recalibrating….)
For its base meaning, recalibrating depends on calibrate, itself a derivative of caliber and perhaps-distant relative of caliper. (This is how etymology works: You start down a solitary trail and suddenly find a word family waiting for you!)
These terms indicate measurement or standard-setting. The caliper is an ancient (and still useful) instrument used to measure and replicate the size or shape of an item. Caliber—of character or personality—implies a perhaps-precise calculation of usefulness or worth. When calibrating something, I’m gauging its qualities accurately against standards. So, then, a recalibration is one’s returning or recurring comparison to an original measurement—a kind of doublechecking or second look.
We could think of retirement as a time to find new criteria by which to measure our life’s meaning. The former dimensions of work, vocation, status, relationships or purpose might need revising or replacing—recalibrating. Time use and health practices might emerge as better calipers— adjustment tools. Self-worth in retirement might engage new/different personal characteristics. All of this can perhaps be measured by our comparisons to and reliance on others living in the same situation.
Recalibration implies careful consideration, so this approach to retirement isn’t frenetic or fraught with worry. Because the process occurs continuously, we can enjoy the prospect of gradually changing the quality of our lives. We can revisit lifestyle standards and goals that we’ve set aside earlier in life. And when life circumstances suddenly change—for better or worse—we will be experienced in the wisdom of recalibration.
Like all metaphors, this one doesn’t fit everything there is to know about retirement. One nice thing about the idea: It suggests that the standards by which we live into our later years can be examined and chosen with care. Perhaps even at a higher caliber….?
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