Time

One of the great perk of retirement is the re-appropriation of time.
Having long ago been hijacked by your employer, time becomes yours again the minute you turn in your badge.

When you are working, your company monopolizes your time and your thoughts.
From the minute you wake up until the end of your commute, your internal computer keeps humming and rearranging files.
Not your own, the company’s.
This doesn’t leave you much time to smell the roses.

Retirement changes everything.
When you hang up your business suit, all the noxious fumes are flushed out and the walls of your mind are spruced up with a fresh coat of white chalk.
With an uncluttered brain, you can now luxuriate in your own personal thoughts.
Your unshackled mind pulls on the bit and urges you toward new horizons.

When your mind is free to roam, magical things start happening.

First, your ears become unclogged.
Just like doctor Doolittle, you suddenly start hearing and understanding what animals are saying. “Give me a piece of your sandwich please”, “play with me”, “let’s go for a walk”…
The scientific explanation is very simple.
While you were working you were tuned-in to the company’s beacon.
When you retired your listening frequency switched automatically to the animal channel and it enabled you to instantly comprehend your four-legged friends.

Second, you start seeing in things in Technicolor.
Objects and people, previously seen in black and white, start appearing in color. Instead of the blurry shapes of the past, you know distinguish sharp edges and smiling faces.

Third, scales fall off your eyes.
You become aware of previously unnoticed things.
Flower petals, cobwebs, foraging bees, and rainbows suddenly catch your eye and entice you to a closer look.
You are seeing the world again through the eyes of a child.

Time is money say the Temple Merchants.
But according to Jim Rohn “Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.”

To conclude, “The bad news is that time flies. The good news is you are the pilot.” –

Alain