Think more

Retirement is a gift that I have been given, but it is like a large beautiful bowl and I must find beautiful things to place in it. There is a real danger of filling the bowl with bits and bobs of useless things.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about aging , and I realize that I must plan my remaining years carefully if I expect to get the most out of them. I think when you reach that certain age, if you are lucky, you begin to realize that life is giving you a second chance.

When you are young and raising a family you are busy living in your waking hours. Each day is brim full of necessary deeds and tasks. People need you, so you spend time working on filling those needs---whether it is earning a living to pay bills or cooking and cleaning and kissing boo-boos or consoling a broken teenage heart.

It is a daily race and you fall into bed at the end of the day, hoping your mind will slow down enough so that you can sleep.

Then, almost suddenly, but not without warning (children leaving home, getting married, having their own little ones) you realize that the race is slowing way down. You have time to look to each side and not always ahead. You are going slow enough now that you no longer worry about taking the wrong side road. As a matter of fact, a side road is rather desireable.

If you have good health and your finances are secure your side roads can be more interesting and very available. But even if life didn't end up like you had planned, there are still different things that you can do to have an enjoyable life.

When was the last time you took the opportunity to be lost in thought for a while. I remember the days, as a little girl, dreaming for hours. Do my grandchildren have time to do that today? Are their days so scheduled with activities or so filled with technological toys that they fail to exercise their brains and in turn their imagination? Are we becoming doers and not thinkers?

I guess this is why activities such as doll making, sewing and crafting appeal to my soul. There is time for thought. Where do you do your best day dreaming or thinking?

Now that I have such peace in my life I have so much more time for thought. I hope others realize how important thought should be in their lives.