Life after retirement.

On saturday, I met a friend at the Pulau Tikus market in a short pant and a polo-T. I greeted him a good morning and he was quite surprise to see me. He enquired whether I was alone and I told him, I have came to the market with my Sister and she was shopping in the market and I will need to find her and I bid goodbye to him.

I have met a couple of my retired friends at the market and all of them look so relax in their shorts and T-shirts and one of them carry a cloth bag like what the monk use. When I enquire what are they doing, they would tell me that they are travelling between places. A few months in KL or Australia and a few months in Penang. They are either visiting their daughters or sons or their wife in different places and travelling is like a past time. How do they spend their time in their daily life? Some friends will tell me that they spend their time surfing the internet, facebook, reading books, wondering in the wet and dry market, finding food to eat as their daily routine. Ow!Living for the sake of living. Anything more meaningful, guys?

The other day I asked my wife how shall we spend our retired life and she told me " do some charity work". What charity work? Do have the passion or the commitment to do it. It has to be meaningful and interesting, otherwise, it becomes our burden. I have met a friend who told me that she intends to take up law after retirement, some friends want to study herbs for health. Some of them still want to get more money and wants to do business. So many things to do but what is the purpose and direction? Keeping healthy or do exercise to preserve our life could be another meaningful routine. What is the challenge ? Living for the sake of living, eat for hte sake of eating and have such kind of closure in our life ?

Is that what we want or what it should be? Past on, my friends. What is more to life except to prepare for our closure? What more can we ask? We are done and let others take over. Learn to let go ? Billions of people have gone in this way and there is no exceptions.

Buddha in his enlightenment have realized the cycle of life " born into this world, grow old, illness and death ". If we are aware of the philosophy of impermanance and living in the present, we will not have so many questions of what we should do after retirement. The past is gone and the future is a dream and what you have is the present. Be contented and let natural takes its path for life is a journey not a destination. Nature and time will have answers for everything.

Namaste.