First day out of work

How did I feel first day after my retirement?
May be because I have taken three weeks of leave just prior to my retirement after over thirty two years of public service, my first day out of work passed more or less just like any other day in the previous month. I woke up as usual, between 5 and 6 am, meditated for an hour or so, went for one hour of brisk walk, then, as it was my “official” birthday, I have morning tea with a few old friends, who were thoughtful enough to bring a small birthday cake for the occasion. In the afternoon, I have a nap, then practiced singing “Bengawan Solo” for the presentation in the evening when DBKK gave me a farewell dinner which was attended by nearly 100 officers, advisors and staff and finished at midnight. In the farewell dinner, the Mayor and I each gave a speech. As I have given a formal speech during the last Management Committee Meeting on the 3/6/2002, summarizing what I have been telling the officers what they should do in the past 26 months and also a formal short speech during the handing over of duties on the 4/6/2002, thanking everyone and asking everyone to forgive me for any harm that I have caused them as well as urging them to give my successor the same support they have given me, so in the farewell dinner, my speech was very informal, mostly on personal things. I did not write any of these speeches. The idea is for words to come out from my month without weighing them. Let them come from my heart, so to speak. I received a pewter Chinese chess set from DBKK, and three books, one painting, a group photograph, three sculptures and a pewter plaque from the nine departments. It was very thoughtful of them and a present surprise to me. Well, I now think they love me more than I was willing to believe earlier. I took photographs with the presents the next day.
Many people asked me how I felt, expecting me to say either my shoulders are light now that I let go what I have been shouldering or I now have plenty of free time. I didn’t feel much that way. There could be two reasons for that. First, the three-week leave acted as a transition. Secondly, I have handed my duties to a successor whom I have recommended and I promised to advise and assist him for the betterment of the city. But to say I didn’t feel any relieve at all is also not true. After all, now some one else is carrying the heavy burden and I mainly have my own deadline, rather than other’s, to meet. There is definitely that sense of relieve, only it is not very strong.
I intend to shift from one routine to another. I want to have more time for physical exercise and then spend most of my time practicing and teaching Yoga, studying Indian, Chinese and Western Philosophy and do some research into “ alternate” education. My purpose of studying philosophy is to learn what were the answers of the great philosophers of the world in the past about certain big questions and to try to integrate the three major philosophies for the benefit of our future generations. And by “ alternate” education, I mean an educational approach that teach people to look at each and every situation as a totally new one, rather than treating it as similar to past occurrences and react to it habitually. The intention is not to replace the current approach but to treat them on equal terms.
There were only my wife and I in the house most of the time. But we don’t feel lonely. She has plenty of her reading to catch up and I have mine. The World Cup football has diverted some of her time while I still have unfinished commitments, official or otherwise, to gradually ‘ease’ out from. There are still meetings, dinners, functions, talks and seminars to attend in the next few weeks.
I fully realize I must keep myself fully occupied. I never have enough time to do all the things I wanted to do in the last forty over years and I now will become a full time “hobbyist”.

By Hiew 5/6/2002