Freedom at 60
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Expensive Freedom
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Freedom in Iran
A few days after my retirement my son-in-law asked me how was I feeling post retirement.
It is often difficult to know what to say instantly. In our country Sixty years is the age when one acquires sufficient experience to lose one’s job. So did I. Answer to my son-in-law’s Question, however, was simple – freedom at sixty. I have the freedom to get up in the morning when I want to, go to sleep when I want to and in between work and entertain myself when I want to- all at my own pace. No hurry to take bath, no hurry to get dressed up which I had to force myself every morning. Every day now seems like a Sunday. Retirement looks like a long vacation. Goodbye tension welcome pension!
To quote an anonymous poet:
Happy days are here at last,
The days of 9 to 7 are past,
I have worked all my life and
Paid my dues
Now I’ll do just what I choose!
Everything, however, is not hunky-dory after retirement. Retired, it is often said, is twice tired,
First tired of working, then tired of not. There is another challenge to spend time without spending money. And yet another challenge is boss at home. When you retire, you switch bosses- from one who hired you to the one who married you.
Only after a few months of retirement I realized how boring it was to be free all the time. The newly acquired freedom started losing charm so soon. I felt I was drifting towards idleness. For some days I reflected upon the idea of reemployment to keep myself occupied but this thought was soon abandoned as I never wanted to face the drudgery of routine life again. Then a voice in my head said ‘The World is too much with us‘. Perhaps Wordsworth had similar experience when he wrote-
“The World is too much with us: late and soon
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers
Little we see in nature that is ours.”
In the words of Mark Twain ‘retirement in fact is a journey of discovery. In my daily routine I never had time to appreciate God’s creations around us’.
Inspired by these Great Masters I set about journey of self discovery. I thought all these years I have discharged my duties and responsibilities in life sparing little time to be with myself. Perhaps now is time to know mystery of life. Who am I? What is the purpose of my being on this Planet? Answer to such questions is beyond the realm of thought. To find answer the need is to do ‘inner journey’, a journey in search of ‘real self’. I started observing myself in silence. Gradually I started feeling the ‘Power of Now’- awakening in the present moment. I watch nature more closely. I am now more at peace with myself and accept people and situations as they are. I feel more joy and enthusiasm to live life on my own terms. I also enjoy my occasional drink to remain in the world of ‘MAYA’.
I am now free to do whatever I like to do. For me this is Art of Living- freedom at sixty.
