“I find my thoughts drifting to the Sabbath, the day of rest, the seventh day of the week, and perhaps the seventh day of one’s life as well, when one can feel that one’s work is done, and one may, in good conscience, rest.”
― Oliver Sacks
How do you experience or anticipate retirement?
Curiously, one of the most frequent questions asked of a retiree is, “What do you do to keep busy?” My response has been, “just enough.” We can think of ‘busy’ in different ways. A lingering need to be preoccupied, having a sense of being needed, perhaps a fear of boredom, an alternative to loneliness. I’d like to make a pitch for putzing – distracted dawdling, reorganizing redundabundance, downsizing detritus.
Volunteer activities? You bet, in moderation. Just enough.
Not everyone will be able to retire. For some people, retirement means a plunge into poverty. I think this question needs to check its privilege.