Retirement Talk
WHAT to do with the rest of your life? |
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Episode 162 Looking Ahead; Looking Back
Each yearly turn of the calendar calls into question what we
are doing with our lives. The popular press inundates us with reviews of the
year, decade or century. We are encouraged to do the same.
This is Retirement Talk. This is Del Lowery.
Reviewing our personal lives of the past year, decade or
century can be dangerous. Of course, it may also be rewarding. On the last day
of a recent 12 day road trip my wife and I started to reminisce about all of
the trips we had taken over our 44 years of married life. They ranged from a three
day honeymoon drive from
Waterloo
,
Iowa
to Prairie du Chien,
Wisconsin
to more exotic trips in Europe, Africa, Asia and the
Arctic
. It was fun to review but when we were done we
put the list away and moved on down the road. It is what's down the road that
is important to us now.
That seems to be the way it is with looking back and looking
forward. The review mirror is good for only a glance. We want to keep our eyes
on what is in front of us. At least that the way it is with me. I know some
folks, retired and not retired, who seem to keep looking in that review mirror.
They like to look back; back to high school, back to college, back to the war,
back to the old days. They dwell in the past. I can't do that.
That's the way it is with each New Year. I need to refocus
on what is out front. What will happen? That's the question.
We retired people face a particular peculiar problem. For
us, the work-a-day world does not determine our daily, weekly, monthly or even
yearly schedule. We can pick and choose. We can enroll in college classes,
develop a ridged schedule of fly fishing, watch more television, or read more
books. We could even write our own book, learn to fly an airplane, or become an
artist of one sort or another. Ah, to be retired.
Of course one big obstacle looms just in front of us. The
willingness to commit to any one thing or another. We have a friend that has
made that her choice. She wants to leave every day open to serendipity. What
ever happens - happens. She does not want to play the cello on a daily basis,
or the piano, or paint, sing or dance. She just wants to let life roll along
and see what happens. How is it working? She says that she is quite happy doing
that. It doesn't cause her concern or angst.
It is the concern or angst factor that interests me. If you
have no concerns or angst about what you are doing with your life you must be
doing something right. This assumes that you have examined your own life with care.
This is a tough nut to crack. Speaking for myself, the
decision of what to do with my life is always under scrutiny. Being assured and
living without angst is noticeable missing. I'm not sure if that is good or bad
but that's the way it is.
Every time I look down the road to see where I'm going I see
all of these other roads that diverge and dip into the undergrowth to reveal
what I will never see. And I wonder about those. I wonder what life would be
like if I go that particular direction. Or that one, or that one. But of course
we can travel only one at a time. I'll have to leave the others for another
day.
As years roll by we're allowed more time to choose different
paths; to explore new roads. Now all we have to do is make up our mind as to which
direction we want to go. We can't just sit here in the middle of the highway
and let life wiz on by. Best to jump up and start down one of the many. We
can't just sit here and wait for Godot. Then again, I guess we could - but it isn't for me.
This is Retirement Talk.
A resource from a listener: Best Free Online Degrees for Seniors guide is designed to assist seniors who aspire to enhance their intellect or consider starting a new career path. It features an overview of the top online degrees for seniors, emphasizing their numerous advantages, and a broad range of subjects to choose from.
A friend's website: Terra Firma Designs: Fine Furniture, Stained Glass and woodworking workshops.
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