Provided a retired person has an adequate income, they are in independently wealthy in a mild way.
That sentence refers to wealth but I actually meant money, which is just one kind of wealth. It is important, sure, but not the only kind and maybe not the most important. When that figure in a black hooded gown holding a scythe appears, my time as a living human being will be up. That may be the ultimately important type of earthly wealth: time left to live.
Many retired people I know express surprise at how busy they are. I think I can understand why. When I was employed, I had a large chunk of my weekly time committed. I knew where I would be each workday morning and what I would be doing each working day. Being retired with that financial independence, I can select my location and use my time with a very broad array of choices. That broad array is attractive. It contains many interesting possibilities that I've never tried. All sorts of travel, of course but also thousands of possible hobby activities. I know a potter, a jeweler, a woodworker. I have a fascination with line drawing. Just think of being able to have a country scene or a comic robot or a sexy babe appear on a white sheet of paper from your hand. All my life, I have been convinced that an educated person can think, read, speak and write in another language besides the one he was born into. I think there are something on the order of 150 languages and I knew I couldn't master them all. I heard a guide in Switzerland say that English, Spanish, Mandarin, Russian and Arabic are the great languages, as far as number of users. Three of those use alphabets that differ from English and learning one would probably be good for my brain. Over time, though, I developed a special respect for the histories and achievements of the Italians, the Finns and the Japanese. So, one of those tongues might be good for me to work on.
Of course, I like reading. But I don't do much with reading other than English books and web pages. I don't look at the 3000 journals that come into my campus library monthly. I don't look at the world's newspapers or the 200 million blogs of independent writers and thinkers.
Clearly, I am not going to get to all the interesting places on just this one planet, engage in all the interesting and satisfying hobbies there are, learn all the musical instruments, write all the poems I could, master line drawing, learn even the languages I am especially interested in. You can see that these possibilities plus housework, exercise and body work, seeing doctors and dentists for my bod, paying my bills and taxes, visiting with family and friends...No wonder, retired people are very busy!
When I was working, I could see why I didn't take advantage of all these opportunities. In retirement, it is very tempting to try to run after them all.
