‘Ten hobbies for retirees’ list may need some revising

Yoga teaches us to quiet the mind. This saying preoccupies my thoughts. At the end of class, whenever someone next to me falls asleep, and I listen to their snoring, I am stunned that this could actually happen. The mad, envious part of me wants to jump on their chest and scream, “How do you do this?”

I can’t ever quiet my mind. I’m thinking that how we spend our retirement years is even more important than how we spent our working years. That we have a responsibility to ourselves to make the best use of the time we have left.

This is not a healthy way to live if you can’t just plop down on the sofa and read a book. Or if you have some notion that the only way to be happy is if every room in your house is neat and tidy, which it can’t be all the time.

One of my favorite authors, Anne Lamott, said in her book “Bird by Bird,” “Your problem is how you are going to spend this one and precious life you have been issued. Whether you’re going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and find out the truth about who you are.”

At our age, don’t we already know who we are? I am reminded of my sweet father-in-law Otto who decided to take up the violin at age 67. After he had been taking lessons for months and practicing every day, he agreed to play “Happy Birthday” for a rapt audience sitting around the kitchen table with our cake plates in hand.

It was the most God-awful cacophony I have ever heard. We tried to stifle our laughter and be supportive, but even he knew that he wasn’t hitting the correct notes. Soon after his performance, he returned to his two passions: golf and pinochle.

For me the great lesson was that he tried to play the violin.

There are thousands of websites and resources to help guide any retiree to taste life. One site is called seniors.lovetoknow.com. Here is their list of 10 hobbies for retirees: travel, volunteer, arts and crafts, music/theater/dance, clubs/associations, exercise, cooking, great outdoors, teaching and reconnecting with family.

Chances are you are already involved in several of the 10 categories, but like me maybe you want to drop one and add another.

Here’s my latest plan. Water strength training classes this summer and reconnecting with old friends and family. I am searching for a painting class. Finally, I plan to try one new recipe a week and cook at home more in an effort to avoid crowded restaurants and the cost, too.

Quieting my mind is my biggest challenge still, and I find it only stops whirling when I read. Anne Lamott declares, “For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.”