Chris Simmonds’ Post

I was at the barbers the other day, one that I have been going to for 10 years, and the chap asked me when I was retiring. I spluttered that I have a lot left in me yet and not for a few years. I returned home depressed that someone had asked me that. Was it his 10 year knowledge of the colour of my hair changing or did I just look knackered? Clearly my cognitive age had yet to catch up with my chronological age. I have commented a lot on the change that happens when you get older. The mindset that shifts to no longer thinking along the lines of ‘how many years since being born?’ to ‘how many years left?’ and the shift in focus away from who you want to BE; to that of what you want to DO. Whilst looking back at the history of HF Holidays and the roots to why it all started, it sparked a further curiosity about the mindset of ageing. I was curious as to the problem its founder TA Leonard was seeking to address and I discovered it was the erosion of meaning in people’s experiences and the impact. He commented in his book of 1934 ‘Adventures in Holidaymaking’ “The town dweller seemed to have lost his taste for nature and was seeking change from the monotony in the noise and forced gaiety of artificial recreation in artificially created seaside resorts” He felt that this could lead to a degradation of your character. He had a real beef about this. He believed the solution was to go outdoors “We have regions of loveliness to seek out and to preserve for the highest uses of the human spirit.” And enjoy it with others, “It was the sense of altogetherness that made the difference. We were as diverse as we could be, in education, vocation, class and creed, but one thing we had in common and that was the holiday in the open and the determination to enjoy it” As people age, they develop an increased search for meaning, especially when faced with their own finitude, of time itself slipping through their fingers. They’ve achieved their ambitions, reached goals, and now find themselves searching for something more. Some philosophers call it “the existential vacuum”, where activities that once filled your life are no longer after sufficient and no amount of 'doing' can address what’s going on inside. A deeper form of engagement with life is needed. One that is more important than the goals and achievements that used to motivate – a search for meaning in later life and a need engage with the world differently. TA Leonard had it nailed in the mutual benefit of a good conversation whilst taking in the breath-taking wonder of nature. An opportunity to reshape your own meaning, even in the twilight years of life. That barber sparked some deep thinking and don’t get me wrong, I’m still an atheist! The festive season is all about friends and family, make sure you enjoy some good conversation and go outdoors (TA Leonard’s prescription for meaning)….it does you a lot of good. Happy Christmas and here’s to a meaningful 2025.