As this is the last issue of 2021, I’d like to talk about last chapters, and how they are more important than all the previous chapters.
As in a book, each chapter is a development from the last one. Anxieties and anticipations are somewhat satisfied by the latest chapter.
And the last chapter, well, that’s when all the reader’s questions are answered. It is the conclusion, a simplification of all the previous ones, no matter how complicated they were.
Except for the twist, if there were any, there would be no more reasons to make the last chapter difficult and complicated.
Someone once said to me just before I retired, that I should be careful after retirement because the resulting idleness could be very bad for my health. I asked why, and he said it’s because inactivity could cause me to gain weight, which could lead to heart problems and other maladies.
I took note of that, eager to find out if it were true, though I seriously doubted it because by no means am I an idle person, working or retired.
That first morning finally came when I woke up without a purpose.
Before I retired, there had been some weekend mornings when I woke up with a start, thinking I was late for work, only to be relieved upon remembering that it was the weekend, and I was off.
Well, that first morning in retirement, I didn’t forget I was retired, and it truly felt, first word to mind first — heavenly!
That morning, my coffee tasted especially good, almost like a variety I never had before. But it was the same brew I’ve had every morning for the past few years. When I got up out of bed with the knowledge that I wasn’t going to work anymore, ever, I felt so blessed to have reached that point when, even if I moved in slow motion, it wouldn’t have mattered because–I had all the time in the world.
I was doubly blessed because I managed to retire before turning 60. Some people I know who are a few years older than me were still working that time, not even knowing when they could retire.
It’s been four years, so I hope they, too, have retired.
Before retirement, there were a few things that made me feel lazy for work. They were usually things that I did with my friends that sometimes I felt I didn’t want to end.
Group riding with them on our motorcycles was just one activity that I’d have called in sick to work for, though I never did, even once.
Road trips with the family were also some of those things that anyone, at one time or another, would have traded work for.
But, however engrossed I was with my favorite activities, work always took precedence in those many temporary moments. It was my livelihood, after all.
Missing favorite activities are always temporary because retirement will eventually come. Even those who aren’t ready for retirement would find themselves retired one day. What are they going to do, work until they can’t move?
If you asked me, I’d say the longest period in life is when we are working and raising a family. That’s the activity that takes us to the edge of our useful lifetime, before we enter THE LAST CHAPTER.
Most working people would quickly decline invitations to parties and what not, saying that they have to work the next day. “If I were retired, it’d be no problem,” is almost always what all of them would say.
I was one of those people. But to me, it wasn’t some figure of speech that I threw out there as an excuse. I meant it, and I couldn’t wait to live it. The prospect of retirement was the impetus that kept me going.
Just as perpetual machines are an impossibility, it became almost impossible to keep working and keep my cool, so I can in turn keep working. I reached a point when I was “burned out” and irritable as hell. I wasn’t excited about work anymore, and I started to get worried I may not be able to enjoy my later years the way I wanted to–that I may not be able to reward myself for all those years of toil.
You see, anything, anything at all could steal time from you, if you know what I mean. At that point, retirement became the most attractive thing in the world.
Now, I have been retired for four years. Besides writing for this newspaper, my other hobbies include photography, field recording, and a little bit of voice-overs, though I haven’t really looked for gigs.
And as soon as I am able to pick up my big bike from Manila, motorcycling may just be my premier hobby once again, although I can’t really be sure because of the road limitations here.
I now thoroughly enjoy the company of friends and family to a degree that would surely make those still working green with envy.
Where I used to ask, “When will that be?” when invited, I now simply say, “I’ll be there.”
I don’t miss invitations anymore because of work. Life has really become so light and easy since I retired, and I will make sure it stays that way for me.
It’s funny though that I have no idea, still, when all this enjoyment could make up for the hardships and sacrifices that I experienced as a working man. I somehow wish, though, for that day not to come–that it may never make up for the hardships. I have a ball everyday now, and I dare not think that it’s only until it’s made up for something.
So many people think that retirement would at last give them the freedom to make further plans in life. Some feel the freedom to look for other jobs (ridiculous); to take care of grandchildren everyday (giving the free time to their own children whose turn it is to toil); to learn a new business where they could lose their money; to invest in an unpredictable market; to stay cooped up in their homes; to still say, “When will that be?” instead of “I’ll be there!” when invited.
They take away the meaning of a successful and productive working life, and deny themselves the rewards for having successfully weathered through it all.
Retirement is when you spend your money on you, and the things you’ve always liked, and the activities you’ve always wanted to do, go to places you’ve always wanted to visit. It is the time you enjoy the company of friends to the fullest.
In retirement, you don’t risk your money on some sketchy business idea. It certainly won’t be the time to start investing, and wait on returns that may never come while you’re alive.
It is not the time to restrict yourself to the confines of your home (for what?). You may enjoy grandchildren but never forget, they’re just your grandchildren, whose parents are your children, whom you’ve had your turn to take care of in your time.
When invited, go, as long as you’re able to. YOURSELF–is who you’ve worked for all those many difficult years! Learn to thank that person before anyone else!
Learn to love yourself first. There is nothing wrong with that, and it’s not being selfish. It’s simply taking care of yourself like when you take care of your health.
Everyone agrees that life is too short without knowing what it means. Well, I can’t speak for everyone, but I understand it as never having to catch yourself on the brink of death with regrets on your mind.
Don’t let torture be the last act you did to yourself. I understand that it may not feel like torture now, but in those last moments when you only have time to commune with yourself, it would.
With Christmas around the corner, go out and look for the best, and most fitting present–FOR YOURSELF. Live the one life you have, with gusto! Merry Christmas!
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Author’s email: [email protected]
