Steady as she goes

T.S.Elliot said “Old men ought to be explorers.”  While I have no desire to travel, I reckon I do know what he is getting at.  As the book I am reading says, “aging is life’s last great adventure.”
There is something said I really like and puts words to what I am feeling.  It talks about how goal-oriented people can have trouble retiring.  They (and I know I have) have been so focused on achieving goals that when such things are not a necessity, a struggle ensures to find an equilibrium in retirement.
The point is made that retirement gives opportunity for simplicity.  It is a fact of life that at my peak I was endeavouring to achieve a great many things.  Some I achieved and some I did not.
In the last stage of life, I reckon it is important I focus on doing a few things well rather than perhaps attempting many in the mistaken belief that that is what I should do.  My experience is this can lead to disappointment and a feeling of failure when I do not achieve what was unreasonable in the first place.
I have mentioned before someone who complained about their to do list, then realized they had set their to-do list and were really free to cull.  They did, and got rid of 25% of things to their relief.
Why such things matter to me is that it is an unspoken but expected outcome that older age is a continuation of what was sought at the peak.  Maybe I would like it to be, but my body tells me otherwise.  It does not mean I cannot achieve, but it does mean I need to concentrate on less.
Merril and I are going through this at the moment.  Figuring out what matters to us and going for that, rather than attempting to go for things that are better suited to someone with a passion or more energy for such things.
It is a different way of looking at the world and one foreign to where we have been.  But we do know it is more liberating, and a better reflection of where we are at.