I went to town today, in part to make a bank deposit, in part to mail a couple of packages. Rather than come straight home, I decided to "meander" a bit, and somehow the car found its way to one of our local state parks; this one covering (among other things) about a 2 1/4-mile (3.5km) stretch of beach front.
The historic Point Wilson lighthouse is in the state park...
A Sense of Slowing Time...
What I like the most about the beach is that I don't feel like I have to rush. The "hurry of life" drops away and time becomes distant and unimportant. In addition, nobody is going to ask me to do something, all of a sudden.
I really needed that slowing.
Even though we live what most people would consider a very low stress kind of life, being self-employed and spending most of your days wondering where the money for your next rent and electric payment is going to come from entails its own kind of stress.
The state park stretches all the way to the first row of buildings you can JUST make out
In spite of the fact that the park was very busy and both the upper and lower campground were full to overflowing, the beach was remarkably quiet.
As I quietly walked along, looking at rocks and driftwood and other bits and pieces, I was reminded of how we tend to forget to take a breather because we get locked into the grind of all the things we "have to" get done.
I think we all get to a point where our productivity level starts to decline because we've simply forgotten to rest.
Weathered and bleached driftwood
Retirement? WHAT "Retirement?"
As I wandered around and truly enjoyed the "luxury" of simply being, I briefly considered this thing society calls "retirement."
Over the past decade or so, I have gradually made peace with the fact that it is very unlikely that I will ever ben able to retire. Unless we suddenly end up with $100 Hive, it's simply not going to happen.
Depending on what metric you use, I have 3-8 years of "working life" remaining, theoretically speaking. I'm grateful to be working from home, and grateful that I do "light" work that I expect myself to be able to continue doing till they carry me out in a box.
Shapes and Textures...
What Will I Miss?
For a few moments, I engaged in idle speculation about what I might miss out on by not being able to retire.
Being served fruity drinks with little parasols on a tropical beach somewhere? Honestly, that was never part of the vision for my old age. Truth is, I never really visualized myself in old age... just as an older and increasingly slower version of who I am, right now. There was no "playing shuffleboard and bridge" in that equation.
I chuckled to myself at the thought that maybe the reason I never prepared much for retirement was due to the fact that I never saw myself as retired!
More shapes and textures...
I'll Still Have the Beach!
One thing I do know about the years ahead is that I am unlikely to ever leave the coast... somewhere. Meaning that I will always have the beach... for as long as I remain somewhat mobile.
The beach has always filled me with a sense of peace; a sense of hope, even.
When I was a little kid and we were constantly traveling, it was always the local beach that helped me feel a little less lost.
When I was a teenager and various stages of depressed, strolling for miles and miles on the beach was one of the most effective ways for me to "self-medicate" my depressive states.
When I landed in this town — back in 2006 — the beach even manifested a living for me, when I was penniless and had no prospects... at age 46.
View from the opposite end — the lighthouse in the far distance
These days, I still paint on rocks from the beach; Mrs. Denmarkguy uses driftwood and rocks in her artistic creations, and I still occasionally sell "found objects" to jewelry makers and artists... from our local beach.
"They" say we find love, affection and affinity for those people/things with whom we have the most positive experiences.
I expect there's a message, there...
Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!
How about you? Do you have places (or people, or activities) that always seem to give you peace, no matter what? On a divergent topic: are you likely to retire? Do you have your retirement mapped out? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
Greetings bloggers and social content creators! This article was created via PeakD, a blogging application that's part of the Hive Social Content Experience. If you're a blogger, writer, poet, artist, vlogger, musician or other creative content wizard, come join us! Hive is a little "different" because it's not run by a "company;" it operates via the consensus of its users and your content can't be banned, censored, taken down or demonetized. And that COUNTS for something, in these uncertain times! So if you're ready for the next generation of social content where YOU retain ownership and control, come by and learn about Hive and make an account!
Proud member of the Silver Bloggers Community on Hive!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly and uniquely for this platform — NOT cross posted anywhere else!)
Created at 20220819 21:12 PDT
0636/1882