Yesterday during a coffee table conversation my boss asked a few
of us sitting there, “What are the 3 things you won’t forget when you become
very old”. “I was thinking about it the other day.” He continued without waiting
for a response. “The way business and technology is evolving today, I am sure
in a few years I will find it difficult to keep pace. If I choose to focus on any
one, I may continue for slightly longer. But in the end I am sure I will lose
it.”
His question was potent. In the madness of our career
aspirations, long and short term goals, targets and numbers, we all forget that
one day all this will cease to exist. And then the silence may become
deafening.
Most people decide to figure out how to cross the bridge, when
they reach it. But very few plan it in advance. The inevitability of these
questions had dawned on me a few years ago when I took a break from a full-time
career to raise my daughter. I was busy all day completing my chores. But
didn’t know where I was heading. It was during those days of cerebral turmoil
that I found my answers and my sustenance in “Itts-Bitts” and my yoga sessions.
But the question my boss was asking was in reference to an
even further time-zone. The time when the physical and mental faculties begin
to fail. When I see my parents and a few aunts and uncles, blessed with long
age, I realize that maybe this time will come too. At least for a few of us.
For example, my father, once an avid reader, now finds it difficult to read for
long hours. His eyes start to water. And thus at an age of 75 he was forced to
search for alternative engagements.
Thinking of all this I promptly sat down to prepare my
retirement plan. Given below are 3 things I would love to do when I grow old.
Read and write – I thought of multiple alternatives, but couldn’t
think of any other to be at number 1. When I grew up we had more books in the
house than all the other stuff put together. Both my parents taught literature
to university students. For them reading and writing was like bread and butter.
One of my early childhood memories is of drinking my daily glass of milk with a
book in my hands. Another memory is of spending winter vacations by sitting in
sun and reading for hours. I am revisiting some of those stories during my
4-year old’s story-telling sessions. But I hope and really hope that retirement
will allow me sufficient and more time to again spend some sunny days reviving
old habits.
Talking to my grand-kids – I spent a considerable part of my
childhood with my grand-parents. Both maternal and paternal. Stories they told,
some factual some mythical, have stayed with me. Even though I don’t remember
them for any particular reason or inspiration, they form an integral part of my
early days. And I do believe that the love they showered on me has stayed with
me through the years. Now I love to see my daughter getting the same love and
affection from her grandies. And in my heart I hope I get to do the same, this
time being on the other side of the hierarchy.
Listening to music – I plan to fill my retirement home with
the sound of music. Listening to soft melodies, swinging to tunes and echoing
their words. While the daily chores can continue, and will continue, music
would be the constant theme of the house.
And for some unknown reason I am looking forward to an old
age which will have reflections of my childhood. A stage when I do not have any particular skill set. And yet I continue to grow and rise.
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