The Wonder of the Third Age

There is much that is said, and written, of decline in the third age; of the mind, of the body. Discovery, Experience, Adventure; all these are usually considered as the provinces of the younger mind, and body.
I see this now as looking through the wrong end of the telescope; as a narrowing of discovery, experience, and adventure: looking in, when in truth there is so much reason to be looking out – to expand those aspects of our life.
This is not a unique revelation. Surely U3a evolved from that perception. It is an understanding perhaps though not given to all. It is an opportunity that, surely, needs to be valued.
So, how should it be valued? By examining its worth.
Learning, rather than discovering, begins formally when we attend our first classes, at school. Classes, where we join together and information, and previous experience, is offered to us. Note, here I do not say we are taught. Taught – from, teaching. Yet, if we define teaching, that discipline cannot be validated until the knowledge that is given is applied by its recipients; until then it is, simply, dissemination. The opportunity exists for the avoidance of learning. Certainly, true of my own experience.
In my earliest school years there was much to learn, not all of it academic. In my situation, as one of, typically, classes of thirty, I experienced what I later came to know of as; hierarchy, group animals; where – if not how – I might fit. So much over which one has little control determined that experience. Which stream did my mental ability suit me for? It seemed, middle was best. Within that class, where should one sit. This might be a topic of its own. Where I was put by the authority of the teacher, or where I was allowed by the might of those within this burgeoning hierarchy? Suffice to say that with the complexity of these options I did not enjoy the best of the opportunities, and the multifarious risks, available to me.
Throughout working life choices are not always ours to make. Circumstances determine the knowledge that must be acquired and, hopefully, accumulated to meet our needs. As an individual, one is likely to adopt different needs from those of a member of a family group. Provision for oneself, or the responsibilities of providing for others. I very much enjoyed the latter, well, most of the time.
Now, I find myself – the former. Let it be said that this is not a negative. I have all the memories, of the experiences shared, of an incredible family life. My wife though, now gone, and my children – and their children – living elsewhere, means that for much of my time now I must think and operate as an individual.
Looking through the right end of the telescope; I have been given the time, and the space, to find new Discoveries, Experiences, and Adventures.
One of those discoveries is that, in seeking to share that time and space with others of a like mind, my life has been enriched, and fulfilled.
For me - that is the Wonder of the Third Age.

Brian Fowler – January 2026