#3rd act

The third act

A TED talk of a few years ago by actress Jane Fonda speaking about "Life's third act" has been on my mind the last couple of weeks and months.

See, on turning 65 in March last year I reached the retirement age in the church where I've been serving as minister since my late twenties. My employer gave me another year to carry on working. But at the end of this month on the 29th of February I reach the end of this period of grace, leaving me with the question: "What lies ahead for me now?"

Referring to the "longevity revolution" we've been experiencing in our times Fonda uses the term "the third act of life" to describe the last three decades of life - which is actually the more or less 30 years that have on average been added to the life people of our generation.

She points out that this part of our life is actually a developmental stage of life with its own significance which should lead us to ask the question: "How do we use this time? How do we live it succesfully?"

Using this time in the right way, says Fonda, can result in "the upward ascension of the human spirit bringing us into wisdom, wholeness, and authencity"

My wife and I are relocating from Johannesburg to the rural village of Riebeek West in the Western Cape province and will take on new challenges and responsibilities about which we are quite excited.

My hope for this new phase of our life is that it will be a meaningful "third act" and that I will grow in wisdom, wholeness, and authenticity.

One of the things that I've decided to do at the start of this new stage of my life is to start this blog - Blog away Bartlett - and in this way to keep record of my new experiences. I have in mind to write about the books that I read and the music that I listen to, about the new community where we will settle, about the process of growing old gently (I hope), about our new house called "Keerweder" with its beautiful garden, about time spent with our children, grandchildren, and friends and so forth. In between I will write down my reflections on church and theology, society and politics.

I do it for myself, but it will bring me much joy if others find it worthwhile to read and to become part of the conversation.

Things are moving along swimmingly! A hearty thank you to all! A few new tidbits: 

1)You can send files compressed as well as uncompressed.

2)We're in the 3rd act of the episode on Fire Mountain. This is where most of the open shots are now. So if you have a certain shot in mind, look to right after Master Roshi does the Kamehameha. 

We still have shots open, so if you want in, email us your work or link to animation, to: [email protected]

3rd Act Wisdom. Understanding. My Truth. Freedom. Moving towards my 3rd Act ~ Age 60 but not yet there. What aging was for my mother’s and grandmother’s generations is a whole new ballgame for me and I’m a Free Agent enjoying the ride.

I’ve been thinking about how I see myself as opposed to how other see me. Slowly I’m freeing myself from the constraints of youth. Actually I’m happier and more…