Retirement Talk for Boomers, Seniors, and Retirees

I know some people who say they don’t know what they would do if they were retired. My experience tells me that you will, or can be, very busy. Busy, but busy doing exactly what you want to.

I remember deciding to retire and told my wife that I would always drop her a card from exotic destinations all over the world. She didn’t see the humor. She knew that there might be a chance that I would do that very thing. The day I retired - she retired.

My wife and I found that there is another choice; other than moving or staying. You can stay and move at the same time. No, it doesn’t seem to logically follow, but it is true. Here is what we did.

One of the early decisions one can make when retiring is where to live. You are no longer bound by your job to live in one particular place. For the first time in your life you can really choose where to live.

On the last podcast I set out Spinoza's thoughts concerning happiness as a possible rule to follow. Recall that Spinoza advised us to realize that happiness lies in the movement from a state of lesser perfection to yet that of a greater one.

This is a revisited performance of the second episode ever aired on this podcast entitled "What Now". I have made some changes that might better clarify and illustrate the topic. "What Now" of course relates to retiring and what comes after that. Some of us have big dreams.

This past week I came across an article about two folks - age 71 and 68 - who sold their house, sold their worldly possessions and bought a ticket to ride. They have decided to live house free during their retirement years.

When should I retire is a question we all consider if we are lucky. I wrote about this topic in the very first podcast of Retirement Talk. It seemed fitting. That was 15 years ago. I'm wondering If my thinking may have changed. I hope I've learned something during this period.

Of course we do eat to live but many of us find that living to eat certainly has attraction. We do this for no other reason than enjoyment. It is hard to find fault. We just have to remember to control the quantity.

We grandparents, we elders, pass on the responsibility of learning to another generation and hope for the best. We hope we have done our job in an effective fashion. One last challenge lies ahead. We have to let go.

When I stepped into the world of retirement I never thought I was leaving the real world. Now it seems like I see something, read something or hear of something of which I know nothing every day. I’m completely in the dark today about crypto-currancy. Also tick-tock, Instagram, snap-chat and all sorts of other stuff.

Sometimes we just get too busy doing things that we forget to think. Not that I am against doing things. I like to be busy. But not busy all the time and not busy without giving much thought as to why I am doing whatever I am doing.

There is something about ritual ceremonies that glue us all together. I had thought it was just a couple of hours to sit through and then present them with a gift and that would be it. But that wasn't the case.

For some reason the whole idea of becoming irresponsible is so very attractive to me. Now I just have to think of something that might fill the bill.

How many times a day does one have to be informed of the stock market report or the weather forecast? Seems like once a day might be plenty. It is hard to stay focused on enjoying the birds in the sky or the smell of the flowers when one's attention is constantly being jerked about.

Energy is a precious commodity. We want to put one step in front of the other. The tank will eventually run dry but if there is a way to get a refill or plug any leaks we want to take advantage.

Life continues to offer us new experiences. They come if we are willing to take a bit of a risk and accept them. It is much safer to just keep life on an even keel. New ventures require new efforts and thoughts. Reconnecting to old friends may be very well worth the effort.

I love our days in the city. You don't have to go far to feel like an explorer. There is more novelty and more surprises waiting just around the corner. It is this daily discovery that keeps me smiling.

It has been the basic premise of these podcasts that there is more to life than money. Thinking carefully about what we are doing with our limited time seems much more important.

Why,you might ask, am I going into such detail for you. It is our response to your recent podcast topic. In January you spoke of "Finding Meaning in Retirement". Here is the story of one podcast listener.

It is important to share information from one generation to the other. History gives stability and a sense of identity to children. This stability and sense of self control helps establish a positive psychological grounding that enables children to face realities of life.

Considering the end of one's life is not a pleasant subject. But considering the little known information that is in direct opposition to reality is even more unpleasant. This is one place where it might pay off to plan ahead and be very proactive.

I have always believed that I did take the road less traveled by - and that it did make all the difference. But maybe I have been deluding myself. And you?

We know when we are spinning our wheels. We know when nothing is happening in our lives. We know we need a change. Perhaps the problem isn't our being stuck, The problem is getting unstuck. Deciding what to do? Which way to turn?

Canada is on to something with making Family Day a national holiday. It seems so appropriate and filled with meaning. Hopefully it will prompt many phone calls, trips or letters.