As has been so evident by my absence from this blog I have been experiencing a dry spell lately. Part of the problem has been deciding how often to post. With our schedule being as crazy as it is at times, attempting to post on a daily basis is not an option which caused me to think about posting once a week. With that thought in mind, I then thought to myself – okay self – of the seven days in the week – which day would be best for you to set aside to post one of your crazy rants and raves. Seeing that we are home most Saturdays and Sundays (chore day and rest from our weekly go…go…go…schedule), I decided that Sundays will be the day I post to this site.
So, as I sit here pondering on what to share with those of you who are kind enough to follow my rants and raves, I think of how busy we sometimes are and wonder why that is? After all, we have been retired now since 1996 which means we have had twenty plus years to do all that we had ever wanted to do. In searching for the answer, (why…. in retirement are we as busy as we allow ourselves to be), I came across a quote by Henry David Thoreau which pretty much asks the same question. The quote reads as follows:
“It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?” – Henry David Thoreau
Some time back I was in the habit of reading a different quote each morning and after reading it, if it appeared to be something that would be appropriate for what happened to be on my daily agenda, wrote the quote in my journal. The question posed by Thoreau pops up quite often in my thoughts primarily because I am constantly asking myself why I do the things I do each day, or in the words of Thoreau…..
”What are we busy about?”
When at home and it is time to leave the house to go to line dance practice – I know the reason why we will be busy for an hour or so. The reason(s) are two-fold: One because we need the exercise and second (probably the main reason), it is fun to do. While, it is true, at times we do find ourselves saying: “Gee is today Line Dance practice again?” Especially on a day where we did not get a good night’s sleep the night before or it may be pouring outside. At times, we seniors would just prefer to be at home. But most line dance days we look forward to going because it is also a time to socialize with many of our friends not to mention the fun we have while dancing.
As I said, there was a time I used to start my day by entering one quote or another in my journal. But I have gotten away from recording such quotes and it is a habit I would very much prefer to get back to. Inserting a quote daily in my journal sort of enables me to put whatever is happening in life for us on that day in a truer perspective. Even more so if the quote is one that is somewhat profound. Just another way to reflect on why I’m doing the things I do each day.
Some individuals blog or write articles for an income – I blog for the sheer joy of sharing my “rants and raves,” as I like to call them, with others. In many cases, what I write is trivia or as I sometimes refer to it – “useless information.” I have been known to choose some of the most absurd information I can find because I have found that it is crazy stuff like that, that tends to bring a smile to the face of the reader and quite possibly, for at least one brief moment or two, assists that individual in his or her escape from all the negative stuff television, radio, and the Internet provides us with. You know that stuff they like to call news or entertainment.
How does my day go when following this philosophy? In my opinion, pretty good. Each morning when I prepare my “To Do” list, which is yet another tool to make sure I am never bored in retirement, in reality, I am writing down what it is I intend to be busy about throughout the day. Following this philosophy, I am reminded of the many little tasks that – even though one is retired – still have to be done. Such a to-do list also gives me purpose for getting out of bed every day. A daily “to-do list” is – least ways in my opinion, a good way to avoid boredom in retirement. When you get right down to it, completing the many tasks found on such a to do list tells us at the end of the day what we have been busy about. We also need to keep in mind that – being retired – what we do not get done today (I sometimes go overboard on my list of things I would like to do), merely gets carried over to the next day.
In my humble opinion, having a list of things to accomplish on a daily basis goes a long way in enabling us to stay balanced in our everyday lives. Such an action is not only inspirational, but it provides us with motivation to live each day to the fullest. Believe me when I say “to do lists” do assist when one is retired and by creating one every day, a person should never become bored with retirement life. And if your days are like ours are, at the end of each day, hopefully you will feel as we do which is – well – we usually end the day by saying to ourselves:
“Life is good!”
With that I will end this piece with yet another favorite quote of mine – this one being from Confucius who said:
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
Until next time!
Musings by an Octogenarian 
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