There was a cartoon years ago. Researchers put two kids in a room with piles of straw and horse manure. One sat down on the floor and cried, he was the pessimist. The other one ran around tossing the straw in the air and exploring every corner of the room, shouting "with all of shit there has to be a pony in here somewhere" - the optimist. Same place, same time, the difference is how you look at the world around you. There is always something good to be found.
One of the things I enjoy about retirement, is being in charge of my time. It can also be the hardest part of retirement. Each day, I have to decide if I am going to despair, or go in search of the pony.
Where will I walk today? I have made walking a habit, it feels weird if I miss a day. A good walk, is good for me.
What artsy stuff will I do - this one is too easy to skip. When I don't create, I don't make the good stuff. And I like the good stuff.
How many bloggers will I read today? Will I comment on them? I will, if I have something good to say.
What will I read today? And how much. Feeding my mind with the good stuff.
What will I do today, to show that life is good.
I almost always have something planned for each day, but I am not getting out and about as much as I used to, and I feel I should. Life is so busy for retired people.
ReplyDeleteHow did we ever find time to work?
DeleteYou are right of course. There are glass half empty people and glass half full people. They see the world differently.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to work for me.
DeleteI have no trouble filling my time in retirement and I am virtually never bored.
ReplyDeleteHaving fun and doing good.
DeleteAll the possibilities are there if you just access them.
ReplyDeleteGet out and do.
DeleteMy dad always talked about the "good stuff," whether it was a perfectly grilled medium rare steak, his beautiful rose garden, ice cream from his favorite local ice cream store, reading to his grandchlidren, looking out over the Grand Canyon. He appreciated life and all its offerings. He passed the "good stuff" attitude to his children and to his grandchildren and now I look forward to passing it to my littles. Keep your eyes and mind open!
ReplyDeleteIt has been too long since my last really good steak.
DeleteI hope your day is filled with something new to explore.
ReplyDeleteArts Organizing today.
DeleteI have a Zumba class today and I look forward to that each Thursday. We have a LARGE group of over 50 year olds dancing and smiling for an hour each week!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the day, how much I enjoyed Jazzercise in my late 20s early 30s
DeleteI'm also finding that it's important to be purposeful about my activities now that I'm retired. It would be too easy to sit around and do nothing productive and be in a funk. Fortunately it doesn't take much to make me feel like I've accomplished something!
ReplyDeleteA retired judge urged me to get a dog when I retired, as he put it, "the dog will take you out for a walk a couple of times a day." I get the walk without the responsibility.
DeleteGoes back to my gavorite saying "Life's a banquet, and some poor suckers are starving to death."
ReplyDeleteThere is always something good to do and things to explore.
What fresh fun can I get into today?
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