Transitioning into retirement well, translated…
I’d read an article in English that mentioned: “ten percent of life is made up of what you do, and ninety-percent is made up of how you think.” A recent psychological research stated, “thirty minutes of thinking negatively can damage the endorphins inside your brains.”, these two statements are generally talking about the same thing, facing a problem, it’s more important what you think, not what you do.
My daughter is grow, and flown, from the house that was full of noise, now, fallen silent, I’d never forgotten about the moment I woke in the morn, truly thanked Buddha for giving me good health and a good mood; when I’d washed up, I’d made a fist, shouted out to the person in the mirror, “You’re amazing, you can do it.”, then, I’d curled up the corners of my lips, giving myself a sweet smile, and allow this positive energy to get bigger inside of me; I can’t stay in bed for an extra minute, being leisurely is going to make me even more lazier, make me depressed, and, I’d had wasted an entire day’s time, I’d worked for forty years, and am still trying to transition myself to the no more rush of the early mornings, tried to release my stresses, slow my own pace down, not allowing myself to have nothing to do, allowing myself to become wasted.
I’m really unaccustomed to making my breakfasts for myself, instead of for my husband, my children; in over thirty years, the busyness of the early mornings, the anxieties, the hurrying, I’d become strained; getting the kids to wake up, hanging up the laundry, cooking, make five lunches, the years I’d had to scream aloud were gone, all of a sudden; and now, I can slowly, skin the yams, cube it, then, slow-cook in the electric rice cooker, without the hurriedness, no need to be on full-power anymore, no need to worry about being late; those running, small bodies that I’d chased and yelled after, are all now, adults, and rushed into the world, with their separate destinies, leading different paths in life, and the giant wheels of time are crushing down on those young lives, and hung the elderly to the side, wanted them to enjoy that peace, before leaving the earth, and keep on heading down their separate paths in life; the rice gruels, I’d enjoyed with my papers until the sun is very high up, from before, I didn’t have the time to skim through the large titles, and now, I’d read to the specifics, to the classified section too, and I’m enjoying it, that, was what my group of friends conversed on when they met up, and what I’d missed out on, I’m trying to make up for now.
Then, I’d gone to the coffee shops to find me a good seat to read in at eleven in the morning, this, is the privilege of the elderly, with a lot of spare time, to use how I choose, treating myself to a meal, is such a luxury for me now; I’d been packing my own lunches, and just couldn’t get used to dining out, and plus, I’m quite timid, so I couldn’t venture into the restaurants all alone on my own, I’d tried to conquer this in old age, but, when I heard the crowds getting rowdy, I’d still lacked the courage to walk in, what, is it exactly, I couldn’t tell, I’m finally able to make my own decisions, so, I’m just going to enjoy the moment! The lights turned on, my eyes are getting tired, it became hard, for me to focus on what I’m reading, the words started rushing off the pages, I got up, went to the big park to walk for a bit, during meal hour, the emptied park seemed extraordinarily quiet, I’m unwilling to go home and face a house full of loneliness, but my body’s getting tired now, in order to chase out the loneliness, I’d cranked up the radio to the loudest, had some fruits, cleaned out the kitty litters, and started talking of my day with the cat, he would open his eyes wide as he listened, and, when he became tired or weary of my voice, he’d scratch his ears with his right paw and without looking back, find his way under the couch, leaving just me, rambling on and on to myself.
Now when I headed out, I’d dressed simply, a t-shirt, soft pants and sneakers, the suits, the heels I’d worn to work, I saw no chance of me wearing them again, so I’d cleaned out my closet, and brought the items to the Tzu-Chi donation stop, and told myself, that I will NOT buy any item again, I’d not cared about what I looked, but focused more on the inside, clothes are not at all important to me, especially that I didn’t care about wearing secondhand clothes, the friends who loved shopping, became my “suppliers”; dressed clean and not offending to the eyes, I should be able to keep up with the most basic of common courtesies, plus the times are different now, you can wear any clothes and get into any place………
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On the weekends, I’d hiked out alone, I’d once gotten lost and because I didn’t know my environment well enough, I’d gotten frightened. And because I’d hated cell phones, I didn’t take it, and, I’d almost had to stay in the wilderness in the nights. And since then, I’d changed to an easier method, joined the hiking trips hosted by the various groups, seeing the scenes is truly making me comfortable………
From before, I’d read, for the sake of examination, I’d worked, for living, and now, I’d gotten rid of my obligations, and, I’d thumbed through the world literatures, because that, is what I truly wanted to do; memorizing the English vocabulary words, taking part in the examinations, because I wanted to see my progress from my self studies; I don’t need to bend down, to get the quotas each month any longer, and now, I’d only wanted to not become too lazy, to be healthy, to not be a burden to my children, so they can focus on their careers or schoolwork.
It’s important for the retirees to think positive, to not blame others for one’s own problems, to think about the family member’s good qualities more, and not their bad points, do the things you believe to be valuable; save up on the money, so you can donate to those less fortunate; have fun in your leisure activities, don’t waste your life’s romanticisms away. I saw a middle aged man, rushing into the buffet, dumped a set of keys on the plates, as he was getting the food items, he was still on the phones, “Teacher, I’m sorry, I’m going to have to pick up my child later!”, seeing how he was gulfing his food down, I’d seen my own self in the past, I’d passed the batons now, let go of the burdens, like a butterfly breaking out of the cocoon, danced happily, light as a feather. Being happy, aging, I’m floating by, in the silvery white waves now.
And so, you can see this woman’s mindset change, from when she’d worked and compare it to how she feels now, in retirement, and, she’d slowed down her paces and, started to really, enjoying this way of slow living.