I recently watched in a theatre, Farhan Akhtar’s, ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobaara’ – which means – you won’t get another life, this is it. I loved the movie and laughed through most of it. There were some touching moments, too. In response to the heroine asking when the hero will enjoy his wealth, he says, “I have a plan, as soon as I turn 40, I’ll retire, then I will enjoy my money.” To which she says, “How do you know you will live that long?” And he’s speechless. I loved that line.
Isn’t it amusing that we don’t forget to go to work every day, but we forget to live every day? It is startling for me to find friends increasingly ambitioning to retire in their 40s and.....then enjoying life. Until then, they are happy to slog for more, frantically run around to tame their schedules, sacrifice long vacations to be at presentations, and compromise their health to cram more in a day.
As if, what we are losing in the bargain will wait to be salvaged after forty years.
It just doesn’t make sense to me. Does it to you? To wait for a perfect time to enjoy the labour of your hard work and money? And here’s my personal fear. I might be gone already by the time I am in my forties or not fit enough to travel or enjoy life. What makes us so confident of good health and being alive when we live in a world as unpredictable and dangerous as ours? Think about it – is it logical to count on the uncertainty of life and our fickle fate? I am not sure if we are preparing for a great post forty party or inviting painful regrets that might linger till our last breath.
So, try another way if you can. Wake up and make the most of that day. Do what really appeals to you. Do what makes you smile and feel you lived a great day. Work can’t be so disparate from what we enjoy that it turns into a necessary evil. We work to live, not the other way round.
Not tough, really. Just that it doesn’t cross our minds on a daily basis. As they say, out of sight out of mind. That which we don’t see is forgotten quickly. So make living your life a graphic part of your thinking. Think in pictures of a great life, so you can remember the images every day. And life has a better chance to live today than after fifteen years.
I love this quote, ‘Life is what happens to us while we are busy planning other things.’ Says it all.
PS: Do let me know your thoughts on this. What do you think of post forty retirement plans? What’s your plan?
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