On the Right Path

I am rapidly approaching the anniversary of my first year in retirement and find myself assessing the year to date.  As I wrote six months into retirement I still feel that the time has not flown by without at the same time feeling a strong sense of accomplishment as in “wow, this has been great”.  For the first time in my life I feel that I have had short and long term goals and that the short term goals have been accomplished in fine fashion.  The long term goals have good foundations and I am set to take them into motion this winter.

So what has the first year in retirement taught me?  Hmm, first of all to slow down.  I stopped working on September 30^th and the following day I jumped headlong into retirement by taking a course, starting my workout regime and began working on the first of several building projects in the months ahead.  The consequence of working too hard and too fast was that I became sloppy and caused myself a serious injury in breaking my wrist.  It was a major setback but it also sobered me up to assess how I walk around the yard and in the house.  After all “I’m not getting any younger”.  Oh yes, this phrase has been knocking around in my head ever since that dismal slip into the fish pond.  Just saying that makes me feel silly!

Aside from this sobering experience everything else has been delightful.  I feel thrilled to say that my association with my former colleagues is as strong as ever and I credit them as much as myself with keeping up the connection.  Social contact is vital for a person’s wellbeing and those who go into retirement often lose many of their former associates in quick order.  Ever since my father’s passing I have made an especially strong effort to build good relationships with a variety of different people and I feel so lucky to have met them in the first place.  Keeping in touch takes quite a lot of effort and I am learning to be more hands on by telephoning instead of just sending emails or Facebooking.  Talking to someone is really a human connection that emails just cannot duplicate. 

My hobbies took a bit of a backseat this year due to all the building projects but as the projects were made to help implement the hobbies it really was essential.  So this year, the craft room is finished and ready to help me create some wonderful cards, scrapbooks, drawings and other things as they come to mind.  The greenhouse has been in use all summer and the raised beds have had their first trial run.  The back yard is tilled and ready for a bumper crop next year.  I have several other things on the back burner for long term fulfilment.

Exercise took front and centre from the beginning and I can report that despite a short hiatus while I was convalescing I have been faithfully working out 5 days a week.  As the anniversary draws near it will be time to ramp it up to the next level and that plan is already in motion.  All is satisfying on this front, with more energy and more limberness in this old rack of bones.

On a “spiritual” or mental level I feel less satisfied.  I have fallen short in keeping up with the free meditations that are offered by Oprah and Deepak regularly but during the last round I managed to actually get voice activated messages which I really enjoyed but did not sit still long enough to listen to all 21 of them.  I’ve promised myself to slow down this autumn and complete the full course when it’s offered again.  When I was listening I did feel that I was being centred, as they call it in meditation. 

What I have learned this first year is quite simply to slow down and savour every moment of my life.  Without wanting to sound preachy, don’t wait for retirement to take a page out of that book and so ENJOY YOUR LIFE TO THE FULLEST.