Retirement

"When I watch ambitious people I can't help but feel sorry for them."
(From a book of folk sayings by the Finnish cartoonist, Erkki Tanttu.)

Retirement feels almost too good to be true.  Instead of heading out the door and driving to work, now I can watch the sun rise and enjoy the scenery.  I still have work at home, but there is no burning urgency to get started.

"En ole kovin rientoisa työn laitaan."

"As long as he has his wits and a sound body, a person can always get by."

The Finns are some of the hardest-working people on earth, but they try to not take themselves too seriously.  One of the great classics in Finnish Literature,  The Seven Brothers,  chronicles the adventures of seven brothers who flee civilization and its responsibilities to live out in the woods, but eventually reform and become hardworking, responsible members of society.  The Finnish psyche consists of a longing for freedom from all restraints, combined with a deep respect for good work and community.  The tension between these poles is often evident in Finnish art.

This is what I see looking out the window.

And this.

And this. 

One of my daughter-in-laws once told me,  " It seems like whenever I see you, you are sitting with your feet up, drinking a cup of coffee."  There is much truth to that, because I almost always put my feet on another chair when I sit down, and I always try to face a pleasant view when I drink coffee.  Those are two of the simplest things you can do to make your life more enjoyable and it has always amazed me that more people don't do them.