Meaning and Purpose

A thought flew into my head when I looked out the window and saw the beautiful golden light of early morning. Suddenly I wondered what wealthy and educated women who do not work do to get meaning and purpose in their lives. They seem like an unused resource in the scheme of things, rather like us retired folks.
I retired early because I became unable to work a full day. It would have been nice if I could have started working half time and drawing half Social Security; I might have continued in that vein for a number of years rather than stopping work altogether. I think the job I had moved to India and I would have lost it eventually anyway, but a gradual adjustment to my new way of life would have been easier. At least some poor person in India now has new meaning and purpose in his or her life. We used to say that to retire is to die. We could point to a large number of men who died soon after retirement because their lives lost meaning and purpose. I retired six years ago; and yet, I am still alive. I am unable to stand for any long period of time, so those retail jobs for old people, like being a greeter at Wal-Mart, are out for me. I’m not sure that would have given my life any real meaning anyway; so, I blog. It is only recently that I began to publish a blog now and then. Most of what I write won’t change the world, but it does change me. Writing introspectively helps to make me aware of the need for meaning and purpose in my life. It helps me establish mindfulness. I am working on discovering what mindfulness is and why I can benefit from it.