Most of us live our days dreaming about retirement. This serves as an inspiration for us to work more and save more and so look forward to a retirement with bliss, no work, no pressure, just plain and simple relaxation. It’s ideal if one can retire early but yet money talks. One can retire only when one has already accumulated enough money to retire. Yet how much do we really need to be able to retire? How much is enough? I have another perspective to offer. A life without retirement….?! This might seem absurd at first but when i went to the beach, i was able to meet many fisherfolks who were living in perpetual retirement. For them, retirement doesn’t mean a thing because for them the good life starts now. They love doing their work. There is no hurry. Life is slow and relaxed. And they have a good loving community surrounding them. They work only a few hours each day but the way they love their work make work not work but active love. And it even enriches them and makes them more energized. They have ample time for family and friends. They have simple joys and much of it springs from a peaceful and loving community. For them, life is not a burden but a joy to behold. They might not be as affluent as others but they are very much contented with their lives and this is all that matters. We might have all the riches but if we are still not contended we are still internally poor. But these people are rich inwardly and contented outwardly. This situation cannot be matched by money. For many retirement comes at the end of the road and as a fruit of a lifetime of labor (or unconscious slavery) and when we come to try to enjoy life we are already old and sick and are just preparing to die. This for me is a poor concept of retirement. Be content. Be simple. Love your work. Make a lot of friends and be happy. Forget about retiremet. The good life begins now!:
Author: Bliss
Dedicated to making a positive difference for people, animals, and this beautiful planet!
