Metaphors

I was reading "A Satisfying Journey" about the wave theory of retirement. In the post the Bob Lowrey said: 

"I just passed nineteen years of being away from the world of work. If there is one overriding lesson in the nearly two decades since June 2001, it is that this time of life is a series of waves, with both crests and troughs. 

There are joyous periods when you feel so fully alive you wish for longer days. Your creativity is flowing, relationships feed your soul, and your health is not causing any problems worth mentioning, Your mind is full of good thoughts and new challenges.

Then, there are troughs. 2020 qualifies. Your world is rattled by things out of your control. You feel stagnant and unfulfilled, stale, and stuck in a rut. You are at a loss to see the best way forward. Then, just like the ocean, you are thrust upward onto the next crest of retirement. The bad stuff is behind you, and life is full.

Interesting perspective on retirement, I have now bee retired for 14 years and have my own metaphor about retirement, which does not involve waves or troughs. I like his idea of having a personal metaphor for retirement and life. 

Metaphors are a figure of speech that makes an implicit, implied, or hidden comparison between two things that are unrelated, but which share some common characteristics. Developing your own metaphor of life or retirement allows you to make sense of all of the contrary things that have occurred to you and how you handled them. Metaphors make sense of our lives but they can also be interpreted in many ways. They’re a reminder that we’re not alone in our feelings. 

Who doesn’t recognize Forrest Gump’s famous line from the film? “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” What does it mean to you? Some say you should always expect the unexpected, but it could also mean that life is full of sweetness. Which slant do you put on this metaphor?

William Shakespeare said that the entire world is a stage and everyone else is “merely a player.” In this line of thinking, you have the ability to be anyone you want. Why not be someone great? However, this metaphor could also mean that you are not the writer of your own play and that you have no control. It could mean that you believe that your life has been scripted by a higher authority and you cannot change it. Which slant do you put on this metaphor?

Another metaphor I have heard is that life is sometimes like a game of chess. Those who live this metaphor say that you should always think about your next move, but understand that you can’t always anticipate the moves of other players. Another way to think about this metaphor is from an experienced chess player's perspective. I believe experienced chess players understand that you have to think at least four or five moves ahead and yes you can easily anticipate the moves of other players based on their previous moves. Which understanding do you have of the metaphor are you the inexperienced player that believes you cannot anticipate the moves of others or the experienced player that understands that you can anticipate the moves of others based on their previous moves?

There’s no guidebook to finding the meaning in life or the metaphors we use to describe our life. This is something that’s left for us to decide. Metaphors, I believe, help us piece together all the confusing bits, and create some balance in what it means to be alive. But as we consider our metaphor of life, I think we need to be clear when we define our metaphor for others or we may add to their confusion about who they understand us to be in our relationship with them.

Retirement gives us a unique opportunity before we retired we created a metaphor to explain our lives, but in retirement, we have the opportunity to re-invent ourselves and to create a new metaphor for our life.  All of this talk about life might have you thinking about the future and in the far future, we will not be here. So as you consider what your metaphor of life is I suggest you start your end-of-life planning to decide how you want to be remembered. Deciding what your metaphor of life will be is a good start. I also think your metaphor should guide the actions you take today. 

Something to Ponder

Thanks to Stuart for sharing this 

George Carlin's wife died early in 2008 and George followed her, dying in July 2008. It is ironic George Carlin - comedian of the '70s and 80's - could write something so very eloquent and so very appropriate. An observation by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more but learn less. We plan more but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight or to just hit delete.

Remember to spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

And always remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by those moments that take our breath away.

George Carlin

Great words of wisdom.

Sometimes, after playing golf, I reflect on all the beer I drink, I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. I think, "It is better to drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver." Babe Ruth

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day." Winston Churchill

"When I read about the evils of drinking after golfing I gave up reading."

Paul Horning

"24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not." H. L. Mencken

"When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep.

When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin,

we go to heaven. So, let's all get drunk and go to heaven!" George Bernard Shaw

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." Benjamin Franklin

"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer.

Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza." Dave Barry

Beer: helping ugly people have sex since 3000 B.C.! W. C. Fields

Remember "I" before "E," except in Budweiser. Professor Irwin Corey

To some it's a six-pack, to me it's a Support Group. Salvation in a can! Leo Durocher

One night at Cheers, Cliff Clavin said to his buddy, Norm Peterson:

"Well, ya see, Norm, it's like this. A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members! 

In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine! That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers.

Words have meaning

It is interesting to me that we are shaped by the words we read and hear, the things we observe. Our mind takes all of these and stores them away and then builds our personalities and attitude toward life, love, and the world.

That’s why it’s so important to carefully select your environment and to question and filter your thoughts and information that your conscious mind processes.

We simply react as we learned to do. If you put your finger on a hot stove, or if a careless driver pulls in front of you, you react defensively.

If someone smiles at you, you tend to brighten up without thinking.

What most don’t realize is, there is a short but time lag between stimulus and response. In other words, you have an opportunity to consciously respond to words and phrases rather than taking them at face value.

In other words… you are free to choose.

In fact, you are simply a product of the sum of your life’s choices. This will be true this same time next year. So, the time to start is always NOW.

Let’s take the word “ageing.”

You can accept it as a reminder of life becoming a downward spiral… or you can respond to it as an opportunity and as a reminder to proactively do something about it. It might remind you to go to the gym or take your daily walk or run, even though you don’t quite feel like it.

Written or spoken words… or self-talk… can kill or cure you.

Stay alert to the type of words you hear and absorb, and when you hear them, practice reacting consciously to build on them, rather than passively letting them weaken you.