Stomach Flu

Based on what my body is doing, I would say I just have the stomach flu. I don't anticipate leaving my room much. Glad I cleaned my bathroom, seeing it more than I intended. Can you imagine having the stomach flu when people used bed pans?

You know how when you have a fever you sometimes have the strangest dreams. I did that. Everytime I fell asleep I would have crazy dreams. Some have claimed that our bodies release DMT when we sleep, I have no idea; but, I did have some crazy dreams.

I have attempted to read the news and scrimp together something to say; but, I fear I am not up to the task. I find what is going on in France interesting, the French still love a good riot. The issue being faced by most of the world, at the same time, is at what time should you be allowed to retire. How long should we work the slaves?

Some people have this discussion while talking about years of service or age of retirement. I prefer to view it as percentage of your life. If we agreed that people should retire at 55 or 65, in different parts of the world that would equate to percentage of their life. Could be 99% or 70%. Mind you, the people who benefit from our later retirement don't have to work now.

If we look at percentage of life we can then find fairness based on the risks associated with our jobs. This would allow us to adjust fairly over time. We could also adjust based on how much preparation one put into getting their job. If one spent 8 years in full time college and risked all that money, they should probably be allowed to retire a little earlier.

What if you could get a bonus in early retirement rather than cash if you made a sufficient amount for your company (enough for profit and to cover your earlier retirement), would you work harder? What if you got to choose which you got, earlier retirement or cash?

The kids in France protesting having to work until they are 62 rather than 60, I would like to know what they are proposing. It is being proposed that I will have to work till I am 60 rather than the 55 I signed on for. Actually, I don't get full retirement till 59 with 30 years in. I don't get anything for all the years I worked in private industry, the money I put in was a gift to non-civil servants. I am paying for your retirement.

There has been talk recently about being able to expand peoples lifespan to 800 years, how long should you have to work before you retire in that environment? Given the current world population, can we afford for everyone to live to 800 years and retire at 70?

Would you want to live till you were 800 if it meant working the same job till you were 750? Work is not freedom, work is slavery. Work is necessary and it is good for us. The less we require, the less work is needed to produce it. When I look at a Playstation 3, I don't see the four hundred dollars it costs, I see a day and a half of work (or how ever many hours). I see it as work, a trade off.

Please dear reader remember I have a fever. My brain is swooshy. What do you do when you retire? I never had a great plan, I figured I would do consulting work, part-time. My job is to find problems and solutions, I don't know how you turn that off. If your job is to cut hair it is a little easier, you stop cutting hair. A pastor once said to me that he couldn't retire, his job was to talk about God and he didn't see how he could shut that off. Does any of this fit into the retirement equation, maybe, maybe not.

Some people have what they call "bucket lists", things they want to do before they die. I don't really understand that, the lists never include what really matters. The lists tend to be about traveling or having some adventure. Rarely do people pick, helping at least 100 people.

In days gone by, before there were corporations, people worked till they died. They wanted to benefit their families and friends. The jobs changed; but, to not be productive was seen as bad. We cling onto life in the hope of being rich, what a shame. We should cling on to life in the hope of being useful to others.

There is a movie called "Bubba Hotep", it stars Bruce Campbell. He plays Elvis. IN the movie, Elvis is mistaken for an imitator who dies in an accident, this allows the real Elvis to go unknown through the world. He ends up in a nursing home in Texas. A mummy attacks the residents and he fights it off. Sounds crazy; but, it is a great movie. The movie is about dying.

My favorite scene in the movie is in the beginning. Elvis is lying in his bed at the retirement home watching, in quick motion, the world spin around him, he is no longer a participant. I watched my father die and that scene really hit home. It is the point in time when you just wait to leave, when you are done here. I am not there yet.

I believe this level of awareness, this world, is but a passing phase. That belief does not lend itself to materialism (if truly believed). If you believe that this is all there is then you might be willing to work for 750 years in order to have 50 years to make your bucket list. Seems crazy to me. Be well.