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Why Think About Retirement Now?A daydream about the future informs the way you are livingPut aside the idea that considerations about retirement means no more than making plans about money, insurance, heirs, and material possessions.
Imagine, instead, how your activities and, by association, values could be different from the way you are currently living your life. Play this game without being logical or realistic. Be bold. If you believe your life has a purpose or if you want your life to express a purpose different from what you think you are conveying, take the time NOW to answer some questions. Your body and soul may be aching for a response. What would you most like to do with your day? What do you tell yourself when thinking of your daily life? Do you think you don't have time to think about it? Do you believe there is nothing you have an interest in? You have a long list but believe you are too old or uneducated to do anything on it? What observations do you have about the way the culture is (i.e. too fast, skewed values, too material)? Here are some choices to help your process. Arrange them by listing what is most important to you. Putting children, others, self through college or a program of study Learning a new skill, practicing an old skill Living near relatives Transmitting my values Investing in stocks Creating a retirement business Having health care or life insurance Owning a home Purchasing a new automobile Contributing time or money to a charitable cause Putting together a family genealogy Writing the great American novel Becoming a modern Grandma Moses Mentoring a young business person Being a big sister Visiting a foreign country Improving property in the following ways _____________________________________________________________ Other ________________________________________________________ There is a tradition described first in the Hebrew Bible of the ethical will. Although it is not a legal document, it may be one of the most meaningful offerings you can share with friends and family while you're still alive. There are no right answers for creating the best list. The idea is to look at what is of interest to you. Which of these do you already have or do? Are you making excuses? It's never too late or too early to begin directing your attention to at least one item at the top of your list. There are people, places, and tools already in existence for learning about/working on/playing with each item in the list. Sometimes it is difficult to discover your personal wishes. It might be easier to remember someone else's idea of a 'good' list or our culture's idea of what SHOULD be on the list. If so, all the more reason why NOW is the time to discover your own answers. Live the way you want life to be. Create a life you are proud to leave for your children and grandchildren ... and your own retirement.
The copyright of the article Why Think About Retirement Now? in Alternative Spirituality is owned by BJ Appelgren. Permission to republish Why Think About Retirement Now? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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