Friday
Feb122010
2012
February 12, 2010 
Four friends, two couples, sharing a glass of red wine, on a beach in Costa Rica; watching the sunset, talking about our future sunsets and wondering where we will go from here. Will we move forward as friends, following the same carefully strategized plan and stay the course, in spite of its flaws and restrictions. Our approaching retirements have required that we pay attention to the obvious considerations; to our finances, health, previously committed obligations and familial responsibilities.
We are two couples dreaming about 2012, the year of retirement. We laugh hysterically because 2012 is a soon to be released movie depicting the end of the Mayan calendar and the resulting global cataclysm that leaves only a few struggling survivors. There is no fear in our hearts, only hopes and dreams and we run like kids onto the beach, toasting our future written in the sand. We are positive that there will be no catastrophe since one of us is a climate change expert and surely he would tell us! One of us notices that our peace sign is upside down and again we laugh.
The clock runs forward and a few weeks later we are sitting in an ice fishing hut in the middle of a frozen river. The sun is shining, four new glasses of wine are poured and once again we are toasting, this time a birthday, each other and our futures, as we look around and say dang it, we need an ice fishing hut!! Our imaginations run freely, dashing in and out of topics like a band on the run, occasionally crashing into reality and falling to pieces. Seriously, do we need an ice fishing hut if we intend to winter on that Costa Rican beach?
However we are taking seriously the perils that come with this retirement. We want to avoid activities that take up our time but do not truly engage us. There needs to be a balance between who we used to be and who we want to become and that above all we walk separately beside each other toward our hopes and dreams. The last thing we want to do is to give lip service to our future, ignoring what is in our hearts and simply moving forward for the sake of moving forward.
There is a new word in our vocabulary, insouciant, meaning calm and untroubled, carefree, free of worry. By no means are we throwing caution to the wind and seeking out a lifestyle of inertia. We are looking forward to our opportunities; we are planning for these significant changes that will open up our world. There are Spanish lessons in the works, business and volunteer ideas, financial planning and dreams. We are ever so careful to not ever forget the dreams.
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
Henry David Thoreau
Reader Comments (15)
I love you.
xo
Oh, how wonderful, Margie. How forward thinking! Just think what life would be like if we all did a bit more of that. Another quote I love, in this same vein, is "Choose the world you see, and see the world you choose." - Jonathan Lockwood Huie
I wish you and your three friends the life of your dreams!
So full of hope and possibility and the endless abilities to renew and recreate. Such a beautiful..hopeful post!!! How fun to be able to look forward to those days thru such thoughtful eyes.
I say: go for it: Live the life you love & love the life you live.
btw: it looks more like a mercedes sign then e peace sign ;-)
I echo Kath's voice. ;)
xo
Go for it! Live the life you dream of and do the things you want.
Nice work Margie A Vision I believe in every day. Live every day as though it was the last day of your life.
"There are days I drop words of comfort on myself like falling rain & remember it is enough to be taken care of by myself."
This was my email from StoryPeople today. It seems the theme of the day, to take care of ourselves, to pay attention to our dreams. I love this and I plan on doing so myself, though there is no retirement planned. There are dreams, however.
I needed to read this. I will be elgible for early retirement next year...but I haven't put enough thought into it yet. You make me realize that it is time!! : ) Love this!
You have given me so much optimism for the future! I love this.
Such a wonderful post, Margie. I've read it through several times and each time picking up different tidbits of you. There's freedom, joy, laughter, vision, hope, insouciance (love that word, insouciant) all wrapped up in one thoughtful look towards the future, while being mindful of the here and now.
This is one of the most beautiful posts I've read in a long time. I don't know how you ended up on my blog list, but I'm glad you did, because you've got me thinking of my own forward years. Thank you.
i love your words margie, they've really touched a chord today. thinking about balance, and finding one's equilibrium. doing things with purpose; really living and getting the most out of everything you do. what i love about our little group here, is that so often the right thing is said, at the right time. luck, good timing, serendipity... taking a deep breath and thinking, yup...that all makes sense :)
From experience I can agree that retirement does bring significant changes; mostly all GOOD!
"There needs to be a balance between who we used to be and who we want to become and that above all we walk separately beside each other toward our hopes and dreams." This sentence is so true and speaks to one of the most challenging aspects I have found in retirement.
Margie, this is excellent. That too is how we're approaching our retirement. Coincidentally ours too is in 2012. Everthing you wrote here certainly applies to us and are things we've been discussing and planning. We too plan not to give lip service as you mention but to be fully engaged.