People regard retirement in different ways. Those who have saved or invested enough to be able to make the most of their retirement in style usually look forward to giving up the daily grind, whereas those who have not saved are normally not looking forward to it. However, there is another set of people who span both of these classes who do not want to retire either.
It is not because they do not have enough money, it is because they are frightened that they will not have enough to do. This is a real pity, but it is normally evidence of an over-concentration on one’s career and not enough other interests outside work.
Here are a couple of tips to help you prepare yourself to make the most of your retirement.
Do not treat retirement as the end of your useful life. Yes, it probably was for your father or grandfather, but it does not have to be for you because people live longer these days. Your grandfather probably only had six or seven years after retirement, but you could have twenty or more. If you still would like to work, you can, either for someone else or for yourself.
Broaden your circle of friends and interests or hobbies. Five to ten years before you retire, begin an interest that has absolutely nothing to do with your job – archery, ballooning, deep sea fishing, marathon running, bridge or embroidery, anything, but be prepared to fill the gap that losing the nine to five will make.
Many retirees become far less active than they were when working. This not good, so plan to take up a replacement activity like gardening, rambling, swimming, sailing or golf. In fact, anything to keep those pounds from piling on just at the time of your life when they can do the most damage. If you do not like the idea of taking up an active hobby, modify your diet and walk for thirty minutes every morning and every evening.
If you do not want to start a new job or a new business, consider giving some of your free time to a decent cause. You could visit the elderly or the lonely in hospital. You could visit lonely individuals in the community or you could teach computers or gardening to those who would like to learn. Join the Women’s Institute, Victim Support, visit prisoners or help out at one of the local institutions.
Study something new. Have you always wished to be able to play the guitar, speak Spanish or use the Internet? Well, now is your opportunity. There are normally day and night classes in these and other subjects.
Travel more. All right, you may not have a lot of money, but you do have a bus pass (in many countries, anyway). You could plan a fortnight’s holiday using your bus pass for daily travel from guest house to guest house. You could write a book or simply read all those books that you have not had time to read over the last fifty years.
Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on many subjects but is now concerned with Ways To Enjoy Retirement. If you would like to read more, please go over to our web site entitled Retirement.
Understanding The Chinese Lunar Calendar
Monday, March 1st, 2010Prior to their adoption of the Western solar calendar scheme, the Chinese almost wholly followed their own lunar calendar for determining the times of planting and harvesting and festival days. Although people in China today use the Western calendar for almost all business, governmental and practical matters of daily life, the old method still serves as the basis for determining many seasonal holidays. This coexistence of two calendar schemes has long been accepted by the people of China.
However, this does not only happen in China, it also happens in most other Eastern countries, like Thailand, and most Arabic countries.
A lunar month is determined by measuring the period of time needed for the moon to complete its full cycle of 29 and a half days, a standard that makes the lunar year a whole eleven days shorter than its solar counterpart. This difference is made up every 19 years by the addition of seven lunar months.
The 12 lunar months are further divided into 24 solar divisions characterized by the four seasons and times of heat and cold, all of which bear a close relationship to the annual cycle of agricultural work.
The Chinese calendar – very much like the Hebrew calendar- is a combination of the solar and lunar calendars in that it strives to have its years concur with the tropical year and its months coincide with the synodic months. It is not surprising that a few similarities exist between the Chinese and the Hebrew calendar.
For instance, an average year has 12 months, a leap year has 13 months. An ordinary year has 353, 354, or 355 days, a leap year has 383, 384, or 385 days. When working out what a Chinese year will be like, one needs to make a number of astronomical calculations.
First of all, you have to work out the dates for the new moons. In these instances, a new Moon is the completely black Moon (that is to say, when the Moon is in conjunction with the Sun), not the first visible crescent, as is used by the Islamic and Hebrew calendars. The date of a new moon is then the first day of a new month.
The reason why the majority of countries which had their own calendars had to dump them in favour of the Western, Julian calendar that we use today, is business. First the British and then the Americans ran international business and they used the Gregorian calendar. Anyone who sought to work with them had to follow suit. This is why national policy often varies from local custom in Third World countries.
The government desires to trade on the International markets, but the normal family in the country can not. So, the government took up the Gregorian calendar but the people only pay lip service to it. I live in Thailand and people here do not even use the 24 hour day divided into two halves. Their day has four sections of six hours each and the first part starts at 6AM, not midnight. Therefore, they have four 4 o’clocks a day, for example and no 7 o’clocks. They are also 543 years ahead of us, although this is more common, for example in Muslim countries.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching Franklin planner pages. If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our web site now at Promotional Desk Calendars
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