Good life gives glory to God

People are made to retire after a certain age due to their increasing level of stress and decreasing quantity of efficient work.

Very few desire ‘retirement’ because, for them, it is entering into the joyful period of doing what one wants to do! But many do not want to leave the working world as they feel it to be a loss of importance; and a life to live on polished idleness.

For several individuals, the ill-effect of retirement is boredom. It is said, “He that is busy is tempted by but one devil; he that is idle, by a legion.” Some, become victims to men of bad tastes, and lose their health and waste their collected wealth; and thus become economically helpless. No one becomes completely bad all at once, but corrupt company always influences the weak person with an approach in polite line of attack   to have a ‘sip of the alcohol, a puff of cigarette or a try at gambling’. Once a man is caught in such a trap, it becomes difficult for him to get out of the clutches of harmful habits. It makes him go down the steps of sorrow.

A number of natives face forced loneliness when daughters are married and the sons leave in search of better jobs in foreign countries leaving their aged parents in their ancestral house to stay, as long as their old limbs are active; and finally  when their aged body begins to feel the wear and tear; their bony frame starts rattling like a rattler; their eyes begin to grow blurry; their hearing turns dim   they move old folks to old age homes, where oldies wait for death   wait for a loving entry into the unknown with a joyful goodbye to old friends. Yes, it is the seventh stage of life as Shakespeare puts it “Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything”.

Gloominess grips old couples when temporary life comes to an end when one of them is left alone leaving only the memory of kind words spoken and helpful deeds done during the days on earth; which is left for the surviving mate to accept life with courage. Ageing gracefully is an art in itself. As per the ‘law of reason’ the first thing to do is to remain busy by indulging in sundry jobs like cooking, experimenting on new dishes, keeping the house clean and avoiding the unhealthiest habit of anger and heated arguments.

From the moment we are born, we have approached closer to death with each passing day to join our ancestors in the next world. In death one falls down like an old tree, when its sap has run out.  Benjamin Franklin once remarked, “A long life may not be good enough, but a good life is long enough.” It is not the length of life, but the quality of our life matters most; that is   whether God-centred, on the path of righteousness, truth and respect; or world-centred on the way to wickedness, deceitfulness and indifference   only good life alone gives glory to The Creator and makes dying a sweet return to God as citizens of heaven.