Enjoyment
I've come to the realization that retirement is a lot like dying, but in a good way.
At parties people tell you how much they like you and what a good whatever (in my case teacher) you were. I imagine conversations like this at a wake except that in this case you're alive to hear it. Much better.
Even the students got into it. At the end of our portfolio show they gave me a card filled with cheerful wishes.
My favorite bit of advice is the one you see here. I'm going to do my best to follow it.
Bliss
A book from the Lakewood Library fits the theme: The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World
In Bliss, author Eric Weiner travels the world trying to find out why people are happy in countries as different as Holland and Bhutan, Iceland and Qatar. So far he's been unconvinced by his time in Rotterdam, although he liked the dope. Switzerland seemed more than satisfied but less than happy.
Bhutan gave him a moment of zen-like acceptance of life. Qatar left him unimpressed. Iceland is where we are currently, with Moldova, Thailand, Great Britain, India, and finally America to follow.
This is my kind of book: it includes a road trip, a vaguely spiritual search for meaning, and breezy writing with occasional nuggets of wisdom. Much better than the overblown, plodding novel (11/22/64) by Steven King that I'm also reading.
