The dangers of retirement

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For Christmas, I went back home to Spain and I noticed something that I have been trying to assimilate since then: many of the people I know and love have become old. 

I am not talking about the type of "old age" that we associate with physical decay. I felt that they have become old because they only seem interested in the past, or rather, they do not seem interested in their present or their future unless they have something to do with the younger generation - their kids and grandchildren.

I was shocked because I need to let go of the past to focus on the present and the future. There are so many things happening now, so many things to plan, to decide, and choices to make, why would I spend so much time in the past? But I guess that when you have been a parent and you have had a career, it may be tough to think of any other project as more engaging than those. When do we stop thinking about the possibilities in life?

Are they looking forward to something in the future? I know they look forward to seeing what their grandkids will be doing, but what about themselves? 

I think that that is the downside of retiring: if you do not have plans, new challenges, and adventures, then you have more calm, but nothing to look forward to - not even the holidays. You get comfortable, too comfortable. An extreme example was my grandmother: she decided one day that she had walked enough in her life and stopped walking. Enough? Is that the issue: that we think that we have done enough?

But it does not have to be this way: I do a Spanish-German language tandem with a German guy that is more than 80 years old. He travels often, runs twice a week, started learning French a year ago, and he even went to France to take courses over the summer. He also loves doing his own programming projects. He retired from his own company, which has been inherited by his kids, but you will not catch him idly. He always tells me "Retirees have no time". He complains he would like to practice more often his Spanish (damn!, I wish my German was as good as his Spanish - the guy is awesome, and I am glad that he thinks he needs practice). 

If I ever retire, I hope to remember that I need more than just a healthy routine - I need my own personal projects and new challenges, to keep interacting with people. As Krishnamurti said, "Life is action". Lack of action and challenges provide a comfortable existence, but it does not provide well-being.

In the meantime, I look forward to spending many Christmas together with my old folks: they are my present and my future.


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