Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Living Well: A Bit of a Moving Target


The term "living well" is pretty general. It certainly means something different to each of us.  Experts say that you need to know what you want - with a fair degree of specificity - if, in fact, you expect to get it. A target analogy is often used. You need to define the target you want to hit, or you'll be shooting arrows blindly, hoping to hit something useful.
It's a moving target, though, isn't it? When I was in my early 20s, I would have defined it in terms of elegant clothes, expensive cars, dinners at expensive restaurants, and a beautiful home that I did not have to lift a hand to clean or maintain.  In my 30s and 40s, the concept would have begun to include professional success, an impressive job, and a correspondingly impressive spouse. Having gotten some of that (but the spouse wasn't too impressive), by my mid-50s I was redefining "living well" to include more rewarding, if less impressive, work and circumstances, as well as more free time to pursue more thoughtful, leisurely pastimes such as reading, music, crafts, and time outdoors.
Now, into my 60s, I need to define "living well" with clear-eyed realism. It is now the ability to have a comfortable living and take care of myself well, with enough abundance welling up and spilling over to cover things like maintaining and improving my modest, elderly, and much loved home, lavishing creative presents on my family and friends, vacationing in distant places, and donating to causes I believe in.
I'm no longer interested in expensive cars and homes, or impressive but demanding jobs. One thing about getting older is that you finally realize that you can be quite comfortable and happy on relatively little money. (That's "can," not "will," and it's the difference between the two that makes all the difference.)
The best things in life truly, truly are free. However, many good things do require some cash. Realistically, at my stage of life, I'll not likely find a job that pays a lot of that cash. That job was always Plan A, and I did achieve it in the past. But things have changed, and now I need plan B. Many of us need plan B, don't we?

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