Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Retired? Me? I don't think so.
I am still very uncomfortable using the word "retired" to describe myself. I have to admit, it's a lot easier than describing what it is I actually do - but I've always had that problem, pretty much since I started working for a living. (There's another strange expression, worthy of much collective contemplation - "working for a living" - or, for that matter "making a living" - is "living something other than life? something more than earning money? is it something you make? you work for?)
But, I have two problems with applying the word to myself. The first, is the definition. According to Webster's, retired means "having concluded one's working or professional career." And, believe you me, I haven't done either, and don't intend to, until my conclusion is ultimate. The second is the word itself. Especially the "tired" part. Was I tired before? Did I stop being tired? Am I tired all over again?
Well, one thing I do get exceptionally tired of is the whole "getting and spending" thing. And now that we are old enough for social security and medicare, and have downsized from a home by the beach near LA to a little house near our daughter and her family in Indianapolis, it feels a little different - a little less about survival. It's clear that the money thing isn't going away. There are still worries - they're just a little different. Health worries, for example. Long term care. Funeral expenses. The kids. The grandkids....
And as for the work thing, it's still very much a pursuit (funny how the founding fathers missed that one - the pursuit of work - meaningful work.)
So, like I said, I'm still uncomfortable about that "retired" thing. But things have definitely been redefined. Like work, for example.
My work now is about finding people, like you, probably, who think, like I do, about fun. About bringing more fun to the world, to the people who aren't having as much fun as they so very easily could be. About making games more fun, playgrounds more fun, toys more fun, about making work more fun, school more fun, healing more fun. People who have found that the way for them to have more fun is to be bringing more fun to others.
I don't have money to give you, but I have time, and everything I've learned over the last 40-some years, and a little more wisdom than I had when I started.
So let me know about you. About your gifts and the gifts you are bringing and the fun you want to bring and the people you want to bring it to. I'm not retired. And I have the time. Who knows? Maybe I can help.
from Bernie DeKoven, funsmith
But, I have two problems with applying the word to myself. The first, is the definition. According to Webster's, retired means "having concluded one's working or professional career." And, believe you me, I haven't done either, and don't intend to, until my conclusion is ultimate. The second is the word itself. Especially the "tired" part. Was I tired before? Did I stop being tired? Am I tired all over again?
Well, one thing I do get exceptionally tired of is the whole "getting and spending" thing. And now that we are old enough for social security and medicare, and have downsized from a home by the beach near LA to a little house near our daughter and her family in Indianapolis, it feels a little different - a little less about survival. It's clear that the money thing isn't going away. There are still worries - they're just a little different. Health worries, for example. Long term care. Funeral expenses. The kids. The grandkids....
And as for the work thing, it's still very much a pursuit (funny how the founding fathers missed that one - the pursuit of work - meaningful work.)
So, like I said, I'm still uncomfortable about that "retired" thing. But things have definitely been redefined. Like work, for example.
My work now is about finding people, like you, probably, who think, like I do, about fun. About bringing more fun to the world, to the people who aren't having as much fun as they so very easily could be. About making games more fun, playgrounds more fun, toys more fun, about making work more fun, school more fun, healing more fun. People who have found that the way for them to have more fun is to be bringing more fun to others.
I don't have money to give you, but I have time, and everything I've learned over the last 40-some years, and a little more wisdom than I had when I started.
So let me know about you. About your gifts and the gifts you are bringing and the fun you want to bring and the people you want to bring it to. I'm not retired. And I have the time. Who knows? Maybe I can help.
from Bernie DeKoven, funsmith
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