A Happy Retirement
By Dr. Bob Cheerie [Transmitted by James Gallant]
As I preach constantly on my radio show “Keep It Green!” (WWOW, 440 on your AM dial, Sundays 8 PM), a happy retirement requires sound financial practices. Build that nest egg! Boot adult children from the household payroll! Batten down the financial hatches!
In retirement, cash is king.
An ingredient in the retirement sweet cake I have not mentioned previously in these columns, or on my radio show, is attending the church or synagogue of your choice. If you’re asking “How the hell will I be happy in retirement?”― why not add a little heaven to the batter?
A current New York Times best-seller concerning the happiest peoples in the world mentions the residents of Loma Linda, California. It is noteworthy that three-quarters of the residents of La Loma are Seventh Day Adventists who believe faithful observance of the Sabbath critical to the levels of contentment they enjoy.
A recent survey of happiness among retirees reveals that those who attend a place of worship once weekly are 1.5 times more likely to be happy than non-attendees, while those who attended services only at Easter or Christmas are fifty percent more likely to be depressed than regular church-goers. (That said, happiness levels appear to drop off dramatically for people going to church constantly. Moderation is best.)
Merely walking through the church door will not itself bring happiness, of course. True self-satisfaction will be found lending a hand at the church supper, coaching the church Little League team, or dropping a twenty-dollar bill in the collection basket.
Because Sunday is the day I prepare “Keep It Green!” (WWOW, 440 on your AM dial, Sundays 8 PM), I cannot always attend services at the church of my choice. However, when I enter the Golden Years at some point in the distant future, I intend to beef up my happiness with regular church attendance.
I envy those retired Seventh Day Adventists in Loma Linda who gather to discuss shared values, the states of aging bodies, and healthy eating habits. That is the “social networking” God intended, and it is said to confer a wonderful sense of community offsetting our more usual awareness of being drops in the social bucket.
