Retiring well is much more than having enough money in the bank. You must know how you want to spend your money and to do that, it is important to know what you want in your life, what activities and people enrich you in your life, and how to stay healthy as you move into, and through, retirement. Staying healthy is a physical, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual undertaking and requires knowledge, practice, and commitment to achieve.

We all want to be happy. The question is not so much whether we should strive for the goal of happiness. We will no doubt continue to seek it even if it is unwise to do so. Instead of debating that question, we might be better served in being curious about what happiness is, and whether what we are searching for will bring us the happiness we desire.

I shop at Goodwill Stores. I am not shy about saying this...I consider it fun, thrifty, and a "green" thing to do. As I was shopping at one of these lovely establishments today, it occurred to me how much of a form of meditative practice it is.

Until recently I had a delightful cat, named Hoosier, with whom I shared many lovely, snugly moments over the past 22 years. She recently became quite ill, her kidneys were failing, and the difficult, though loving decision was made to have her put quietly to sleep. I had never had a pet euthenized before, so I have no knowledge of what the experience generally is like.

Retiring well is much more than having enough money in the bank. You must know how you want to spend your money and to do that, it is important to know what you want in your life, what activities and people enrich you in your life, and how to stay healthy as you move into, and through, retirement.