Time to Write the Great American Novel

How many times when you was moving through the decades of raising a family and building a career did you say that you were going to write the great American novel when you retired? Now as you settle into a life of retirement and the lifestyle of a senior citizen, do you wonder if now might be the time? After all, this is the time of life when you always promised yourself you would uncork all of that creativity you have been keeping pent up all these years and let it spill out onto the world. So why not give it a try? Nobody ever got hurt trying for greatness.

But even if you dont achieve greatness, your years as a senior citizen are a wonderful time to explore the creative side of you. It might not be the great American novel. That phrase really is a way of expressing that we all have something creative and unique to give and our senior years are a great time to let them out.

The idea that writing, or painting, or acting or any of the creative arts are the venue only of the young has been proven wrong time and time again. It seems creativity and creative expression really knows no age limits. In the last few years we have had Haley Joel Osment, Harrison Ford and Clint Eastwood all vying for the Academy award. That makes a 10 year old, a man in his late middle ages and a senior citizen all being evaluated by the same criteria for greatness in acting. The young boy didnt win that year but keep your eyes on him. He has plenty more to give.

In fact, it is notable that a few years later when Clint Eastwood won the Oscar for directing, he remarked that much older directors than him were still making their masterpieces. So he was a youngster in his 70s just getting started striving for greatness. These are just a few examples to show that if these senior citizens can shine in their creative work late in life, so can you.

Dont be afraid to get out there with the youngsters and take the introductory classes in the art form you want to try out. You may have always dreamed of painting. You know that Picasso and Rembrandt did some of their finest paintings as senior citizens. So go ahead, go to the junior college or the local museum and enroll in classes. You may be the Grandpa or Grandma of the class but once the other artists see that you have something burning inside you to express artistically, they will respect you as a fellow artist and peer in the artistic community.

This is not to say that writing the great American novel or other forms of creative expression are not going to take work to master. But in that department, you also have the inside track. As a senior citizen, you are not stranger to hard work. You worked hard to raise a family, succeed in a career and provide for others all of your adult life. Now its time to use some of that work ethic to let your own light shine and for a little while, let it all be about you.

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