Retirement Talk
WHAT to do with the rest of your life? |
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Episode 155 Chop Wood; Carry Water
Recall the line from Thoreau that went something like: “As I
lie idly drifting on Waldon Pond I cease to think and begin to be”. When does
that happen? Life is filled with problems and concerns. And all of these don’t
end just because we retire. Seems like there ought to be a time when one can
just sit back and let the world drift by. But it doesn’t happen.
This is Retirement Talk. I’m Del Lowery.
There was a time when I thought this might be the nirvana:
drifting and not thinking. We get absorbed in the moment – playing music,
walking in the woods, doing the ironing, washing the dishes. We loose ourselves
and it sure does feel good. We aren’t exactly drifting on Walden Pond but it
works just as well.
Trouble is; we wake up. We look at the front page of the
paper, we talk to our kids or our grandchildren, we know that even though our
days might be numbed, for people we care about life goes on. Financial crisis,
corporate power in a democracy and climate change may be a long range problems
but they still affect us. We wouldn’t want to drift idly too long.
Life with out problems might not be the nirvana. Drifting on
a pond in quiet solitude may not be happiness for more than the moment. I’m
reminded of searching for answers to the big questions in life that are the
concerns of religion and philosophy: Truth, justice, God, beauty, and politics.
What should we do with our life? There are lots of questions. It seems that
once these questions are answered life would be much better. The word
“contentment” comes to mind.
For me, at age 39 after looking at many proposed
philosophies and religions my quest took me to exotic
Katmandu
. There is a human tendency to think
that places far away have it better than we; the old “grass is always greener”
trick. Eastern thought always had this beautiful word “enlightenment” that
would bring peace to one’s mind. If one were, enlightened what else could there
be?
I found Swami Darmyotti in the library of the very old red
bricked hotel in which I was staying. He became my guide, or, guru. We pounded
up and down the various religious and philosophical questions. He would always
recommend another book. He was old with a long white beard, long white hair and
a long white gown. He took food once a day. His eyes were lost in deep set
sockets and he slept in the library with a book for a pillow. People came on a
regular basis to ask him questions. He listened. Nodded his head and sent them
away with the name of a book or person to study and also with acknowledgement
that they were headed in the right direction.
One day in exasperation I exploded with an explanation of my
own personal philosophical views. Swami smiled, his eyes danced and he
pronounced my quest completed. I was stunned. I couldn’t believe that this was
what they called ‘enlightenment’. But he shook his head yes and said, “Now I
will show you my
Katmandu
”.
We visited some untouchables – they were officially
nonexistent in Nepal at the time, but they were very much alive and struggling.
We visited old Hindu temples, we visited impoverished businesses. In other
words, after we answered the “big” questions there was work to be done. What
can be done? What can we do?
A person can have their moment in the sun and then it is
time to get up and get moving. When we first retire we can kick back and enjoy
the moment: nothing wrong with that. But we are not yet dead and there is water
to carry. We can blank it out and watch television, at least for a bit, but
them something starts to well up within. We wake up.
Grandchildren do a good job of this for many of us. We look
at the financial crisis, the climate problem, the corporate take over of
American government, the Vietnam/Afghanistan similarities, and we know that our
future, our grandchildren, are in real trouble. What’s a person to do?
Even though we are retired and we have waged our battles
there seem to always be more. We may be able to take our retirement years and
drift idly on Walden Pond momentarily. But a rock thrown in the pond, a cloud
covering the sun or breeze that rocks our boat serves to bring us back to
reality. Time to chop wood and carry water.
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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