Things To Do By Linda Stowe
“Everything considered, work is less boring than amusing oneself.” -Charles Baudelaire, poet, critic, and translator (1821-1867)
This quote struck me because it is something I sometimes think about. There are many things to love about retirement, but some days it is a chore to fill the time and feel like it has not been wasted. There are times when I miss having work responsibilities to propel me from day to day.
I once heard an interview with a homeless man who said the worst part of being homeless is not having anything to do after he wakes up. At the time I was working long hours in a demanding job, so this comment surprised me. Homeless people deal with harsh conditions, instability, and threats of crime, not to mention the squalor and loneliness. I would have thought that not having anything to do would be one of the few benefits of being homeless.
Now that I am retired, most days I find things to keep me occupied and, of course, there are those things I should be doing, those projects that I have put off finishing when I get around to it. But I really don’t think my taking the time to merge the information from my old address book into my new one (which I’ve had for five years) will make that much difference.
Now that I think about it, there are plenty of things I could be doing. What’s missing is motivation.
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Polly here.
This was highly interesting and thought-provoking. I stay pretty busy and rarely sit down when I’m moving through my day. And when evening rolls around, I feel like I don’t know where the time went.
But a lot of what I do is repetitive work. Either around the house or working on writing projects. A great deal of that feels necessary to me, sometimes mundane. But even still, I am content to be doing it. Other times, I get excited about something. Mostly, learning something new.
Linda mentioned that motivation is key in finding things to do. For me, it is purpose. Which truly might be one and the same. As I said, the work that feels necessary seems uninteresting. But when a “spark” enters the picture, like something I want to figure out or learn, I become excited about the thought of doing it. Which translates into motivation. Inspiration. Enthusiasm.
And that is a good thing.
So. In the words of the wise, wise Seven.
“Hiiiiiii Hoooooo.
Hiiiiiiiiiiii Hoooooo…..
Hi. Ho. Hi. Ho.
It’s off to work we go.”
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“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs
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“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” – Aristotle
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“The harder I work, the luckier I get.” – Samuel Goldwyn
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Things To Do By Linda Stowe
