Retirement! The word reminds me of the song “Green Green Grass of Home”. I wonder what it would be like to work for decades and then suddenly go home one fine day; never to go through the rush hour ever again. That’s when you return from work one day and say, “Hi, Darling, I’m home – forever.”
We often wish we had time to rest, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky. But when the time really comes, would we? Would we have no other thoughts towards incomplete responsibilities, or our unfulfilled dreams? Well, I guess the question isn’t at what age I want to retire, it’s at what income. Retirement means no pressure, no stress, no heartache… unless you play golf.
When you retire, you’re not just retiring from the company; you’re also retiring from the stress, the commute, the alarm clock, and the iron. Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save. They say that when a man retires and time is no longer a matter of urgent importance, his colleagues generally present him with a gold watch. I’d say, a gold watch is the most appropriate gift for retirement, as its recipients have given up so many of their golden hours in a lifetime of service. Well, retirement itself is the best gift, if you think about it that way. No gold watch could ever top it. Retirement is wonderful. It’s doing nothing without worrying about getting caught at it.
I remember my fine boss write to me one day: “it’s important to work for that pot of gold, sometimes. But other times it’s essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow. Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.”
While the road to retirement itself is long and winding, and while I know that there’s my pot of gold waiting for me that I’ll get someday; I’d not want to retire very soon; not at least in the next few years. However, while I travel that road, I’ll make sure that when I retire, I’ll think and act as if I were still working; while, when I’m still working, I’ll think and act a bit as if I were already retired; continuing my life’s journey with one milestone called retirement.
