Letters from a Stoic 69 - On Rest and Restlessness

On Rest and Restlessness

The previous letter discussed retirement from work.  It would seem this letter is somewhat of a continuation, as Seneca advises Lucilius to cease his meandering and itchy legs.

the spirit cannot through retirement grow into unity unless it has ceased from its inquisitiveness and its wanderings.

As one enters a retirement phase of life and takes on more hours to the study of philosophy, he must focus and attempt to unify his soul and actions.  Too long, one has given into the things of indifferents and now one must direct his full attention to the pursuit of wisdom.

Give your eyes time to unlearn what they have seen, and your ears to grow accustomed to more wholesome words. ...  he who would lay aside his desire for all the things which he used to crave so passionately, must turn away both eyes and ears from the objects which he has abandoned.

Therefore, while in retirement and in a focused pursuit of love of wisdom, one must turn away from what he lusted after most of his life.  A whole life-time is not enough to rid oneself of all vices, let alone a few decades of retirement.  Therefore, in retirement, all the more sense of urgency ought to be applied.

Vices tempt you by the rewards which they offer; but in the life of which I speak, you must live without being paid. Scarcely will a whole life-time suffice to bring our vices into subjection ... Even constant care and attention can scarcely bring any one undertaking to full completion.

I don't know what my own retirement from the workforce will be like.  I've often contemplated that it ought to be lived in quiet and in minimalist fashion, rather than buying a large home and expensive cars.  I think what retirement has in the cards for my wife and I is a small, but comfortable home, cars that get us there and time with kids and grandkids well spent.  And the rest of my time, I hope, will be spent reading, writing and teaching philosophy to others, while continuing my own pursuit of wise and just and temperate living.

Letters from a Stoic 68 - On Wisdom and Retirement

On Wisdom and Retirement

The three big points I gleaned from this letter are:

1. a Stoic (cosmopolitan) never retires from the universe

2. hide your retirement (from the daily grind) in plain sight

3. in the pursuit of wisdom, it's better late than never

The Cosmopolitan's Work Never Stops

While a Stoic may decide to retire from employment, he ought to have learned he never retires from the Cosmos.  He still yet has work to accomplish.

when we have assigned to our wise man that field of public life which is worthy of him, – in other words, the universe, – he is then not apart from public life, even if he withdraws; nay, perhaps he has abandoned only one little corner thereof and has passed over into greater and wider regions; and when he has been set in the heavens, he understands how lowly was the place in which he sat when he mounted the curule chair or the judgment-seat. Lay this to heart, – that the wise man is never more active in affairs than when things divine as well as things human have come within his ken.

In his retirement from employment, he has work on his soul yet to accomplish.  He may spend time reflecting on wisdom and perhaps he may observe that he can share this wisdom with those who still have years of life left on this rock floating in the Cosmos.  When the retired Stoic begins to see the divine as well as daily human affairs, perhaps he can share counsel for his fellow-travelers who will cross the path he treads today.

Retirement from Employment Ought to be Hidden in Plain Sight

Making a show of your retirement from employment may attract attention.  The flash of expensive cars and big homes may indicate the wealth you have amassed over a lifetime of work, but to satisfy the ego may welcome prying eyes and thieves.  Therefore, Seneca advocates us to not "vaunt one's retirement" but that we also ought not to "[withdraw] from the sight of men" as this also is a form of vaunting.  To vaunt also means to advertise and "to advertise one's retirement is to collect a crowd."

Therefore, retire from your employment, but do it in plain sight.  Perhaps, find a home that suits your needs rather than your ego.  Drive a car that gets you to where you need to go, but no need to be flamboyant.  I can't help but think of Sam Walton driving the same truck from 1979 to 1992, even after earning millions of dollars.

Retirement from Employment, but not from Work

And even after you retire from employment, you still have work to do.

When you withdraw from the world your business is to talk with yourself, not to have men talk about you. But what shall you talk about? Do just what people are fond of doing when they talk about their neighbours, – speak ill of yourself when by yourself; then you will become accustomed both to speak and to hear the truth. Above all, however, ponder that which you come to feel is your greatest weakness.

When the lionshare of our day is no longer spent in work meetings, then we will have time to hone in on our weakness, in order to correct them.  If others were to spot our weaknesses, what would they say?  This is how we ought to approach finding our weaknesses when we have much more time on our hands.

What, then, am I myself doing with my leisure? I am trying to cure my own sores ...  I do recommend retirement to you, but only that you may use it for greater and more beautiful activities than those which you have resigned.

But what is the point of self-improvement at such a late stage of life?

Let us do what men are wont to do when they are late in setting forth, and wish to make up for lost time by increasing their speed – let us ply the spur ... I shall depart a better man.

If you are convinced there is a path to wisdom, then get yourself going on the path.  Never deviate from the path once you are convinced.  And if you've not achieved the attainment of wisdom before you retire from your active life, then use your new-found time to pursue this noble quest.  You will have departed this life "a better man."

None of us know what awaits us after death.  Perhaps we have lived and will thousands of times as part of the Eternal Recurrence or perhaps we regress or progress into another life based on Buddhist reincarnation.  Or, maybe this is the only life we will live and there is nothing before or after it.  Regardless of your perspective, I think there is a case to be made that we should never give up our quest for wisdom and improving ourselves.  Our allotted time is sufficient; we simply need enough urgency to get going and to keep pursuing.

Letters from a Stoic 19 - On Worldliness and Retirement

On Worldliness and Retirement

This is an interesting letter from Seneca and I've been procrastinating writing about it, because I've had a bit of a hard time pulling out Stoic principals.

The topic is retirement.  By this, I suppose he means roughly the same thing that we mean today - to cease, generally speaking, the day-to-day work in which you are employed. 

Not that I would advise you to try to win fame by your retirement; one's retirement should neither be paraded nor concealed. Not concealed, I say, for I shall not go so far in urging you as to expect you to condemn all men as mad and then seek out for yourself a hiding-place and oblivion; rather make this your business, that your retirement be not conspicuous, though it should be obvious.

The golden mean applied in retirement too.  Don't be extravagant; don't make it oblivious.  Find the right approach to retirement when you enter it.

Depending on your personality (extrovert or introvert), you may be saddened to leave all your work acquaintances or you may be relieved.  But none of this is good or bad.  Rather what is in your attitude is that matters most.

Depending on your lifestyle, saving and investment habits, retirement may bring the same sort of life or it may force you to live below your means.  Also, depending on the type of power and authority you had while working, you may have the same or less, when you retire.  All of this is indifferent and quite subject to change when you retire.  Also, if you've not done the proper philosophical contemplation regarding these indifferents, retirement will force you to finally accept the truth.

We hold that there is a succession of causes, from which fate is woven; similarly, you may be sure, there is a succession in our desires; for one begins where its predecessor ends. You have been thrust into an existence which will never of itself put an end to your wretchedness and your slavery. Withdraw your chafed neck from the yoke; it is better that it should be cut off once for all, than galled for ever. If you retreat to privacy, everything will be on a smaller scale, but you will be satisfied abundantly; in your present condition, however, there is no satisfaction in the plenty which is heaped upon you on all sides. Would you rather be poor and sated, or rich and hungry? Prosperity is not only greedy, but it also lies exposed to the greed of others. And as long as nothing satisfies you, you yourself cannot satisfy others.

Seneca seems to admonish the retiree to embrace the lack of abundant money, power and prestige.  While a person may never have done the philosophical work of limiting desire for indifferents while fully employed, perhaps there is hope yet for them in retirement.

That last statement is impactful: "as long as nothing satisfies you, you yourself cannot satisfy others."  Those who never limit their desires can never help another person.  The game of desire is an un-winnable game.  And everyone who plays it, loses.  But the person who limits their desires can win (enjoy eudaimonia) and they can be in a position to help others win too.

A worry of many who wish to retire is: "will I have enough?"  Seneca poses this question in a slightly different way: "how can I take my leave?"  To which he responds with noting that said person, who wishes to retire, already is worrying about their day to day activities.  They are worrying about ensuring new ventures make money and all such manners of toil and stress.  Why should the stress of not having enough money be any different?  You worry when you work; you worry when you retire.  It's all worries!  He uses a different analogy to express this sentiment.  One may worry about being struck by lightening in the valley and and even more so on the peaks of mountains ("There's thunder even on the loftiest peaks.")  In retirement, stay in the valley, "hug the shore."

The ending quote of the letter is another one by Epicurus.

You must reflect carefully beforehand with whom you are to eat and drink, rather than what you are to eat and drink. For a dinner of meats without the company of a friend is like the life of a lion or a wolf.

Giving favors to win friends may be productive, but mind the real cost!  Instead of thinking about what favors to give people, thing more carefully about to whom you will grant favors - consider their character wisely!  Don't become like the man who abounds in fortune, who thinks he has many friends, when in fact they are not friends, but sycophants.

retirement on a ranch?

i don't plan to own a ranch, but i'm happy to visit one

about a year ago, my boss announced he was about to retire.  he worked his 30+ years in corporate america; sitting at a desk day after day.  he was and is very wealthy, but as far as i know, has no "heirs" or children.

as his retirement day approached, he shared his plans.  the central pillar of his retirement was his ranch.  he bought several acres of rural land and planned to build a mansion on it.  when i saw his architect's rendering for the first time, i was amazed and in awe.  it truly was a beautiful and extremely large mansion.  i estimate the mansion was at least three times the size of his previous home; and the acreage of the ranch must have been ten times or more the area of his suburban footprint.

he went through with his plans.  i received an email from him this week which included a picture of the mansion.  it should be completed in another six months as only the walls are up now.

he has plans to raise chickens, to farm part of the land and to raise and maintain an orchard.  i don't think he grew up on a farm, but apparently he is enamored with the idea of ranch living.

to this day, i still can't fully grasp how he and his wife, who are in their 60s (or at least approaching 60), plan to maintain all that land and mansion.  my father grew up on a farm.  my cousins owned hundreds of acres of farmland and i often worked with them on the farm.  and i can tell you from my father's experience and from my cousin's experience that once you do manual labor for any amount of years, you come to the conclusion that it is better to work with your brain than with your hands.

now, i am not against ranch or farm work or any other kind of manual labor.  many people derive a lot of happiness and satisfaction from manual labor.  but by and large, my experience has been that it is a very demanding life and in many cases fatal.  i lost an uncle and three cousins to farm work; not to mention the fingers and other appendages lost from tractors, equipment and accidents.

my retirement plan has a few requirements, which, i believe, are sustainable and focused.  my wife and i want to live near our children; or at least live near a travel hub that will quickly get us to our children (and grandchildren).  there are no plans to have a large retirement home.  if ever we receive visitors, there will be ample hotels near by.  and where we live should be within driving distance of a nice golf course or two.

manual labor is simply not in the cards for my retirement.

picture source: unique homes