An advantage in retirement is having the time to evaluate and ascertain what is truly important, in separation from that which others demand we accept as important. Politicians, advertisers, salesmen, nosy neighbors, well meaning relatives, "journalists," and strangers seem compelled that we accept their view of what is important. (Dang, but if their views most often don't amount to a hill of beans.)
To be sure, importance is relative to timing and one's circumstances. For example, for a dehydrated man lost in the desert, water and rescue are definitely important. Likewise, what is important to the farmer tending crops in Kansas may differ from the convenience store clerk in Seattle. All the more reason to dispute, or at the least reject, that which others demand we see as important.
Health, family, friends, fitness, faith/belief, integrity/ethics/honor, humor, sports, intellect, outdoors, music, and enjoying life are those that I find important. When looking at the list, it is striking that each item is relatively simple. No stunning revelation there.
Perhaps the most complex, due to aging and external factors, is health. But even then, it is a simple fact that we should take care of ourselves in order to enjoy good health. every other item in the above list is really simple. No grand reach in any of them.
Simply being with my family, enjoying each others company, gives tremendous pleasure and reward. Video chatting with the grand children produces smiles. Observing the success as a parent of one's child is awe inspiring. Watching a televised baseball game with my wife, cheering on our team, is a source of simple pleasure.
Playing tennis (see fitness and sports), chatting, fishing, and communicating with friends provide the simple pleasure of interaction with those for whom we care a great deal. Laughter (see humor and enjoying life) ensues, from the simplest of expressions and jokes.
Faith and belief are exceedingly simple in their importance in life. Nothing more need be written.
Raised and living a life based on personal integrity, ethics, and honor provides the simple form of self value and pride. While others diverge from the truth and disappoint, when one simply acts with integrity, ethics, and honor, standing tall isn't a problem.
Sports, in the purest form of spirited but honest (see integrity/ethics/honor) competition feeds a simple need in each of us. It also contributes to fitness and can involve family and friends.
Intellectual pursuit, I find, is essential to each day. It can be so very simple, nothing more than reading and expanding one's mind. Exercising the intellect, just as in exercising the body, leads to fulfillment of this simple need.
The outdoors! Just being outdoors, whether for a morning run or ride, or sitting on the patio, or riding a motorcycle through some of the beautiful areas of our grand nation, or at the beach or mountains with the grandkids. Simply being outdoors, away from it all, can provide tremendous pleasure. Sitting by a lake fishing, waking up to cool morning air, riding along Route 1 on the California coast, enjoying the sunset from the patio, or playing in the backyard with the grandkids. Each is a simple example of enjoyment.
Music, both listening and playing, adds to our lives. (A disclaimer, music by my definition is that which is positive, not the "gangsta rap" and other forms of so-called entertainment that debases women, glorifies violence, and otherwise tears at societal values.) A singular beauty of music is that the countless forms reach out to virtually everyone. Every day should include appreciating music, to provide a positive lift to our experience.
Finally, simply enjoying life is important. Certainly there are enough problems and issues with which one can become obsessed. Real and perceived, these can set an individual onto the path of despair, leading one to possibly listen to those who would demand that we accept their definition of what is important, because only they can make us happy by eliminating all the issues they find so damned important. But it just ain't so.
Each of us can take the time to reflect on what is truly important in life. I'm confident that this reflection will produce a list, perhaps similar to mine, of what s truly important and that the list will be a collection of simple things.
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