The antidote for the Retirement Disease - Rishona Chopra

When people retire, they initially struggle. Letting go of the tight work schedules, being used to doing much work, and suddenly no work at all is rather hard. It's somewhat like going back to school after a month of holidays. It's the least exciting day as all you want to do is just relax more. But here, in the case of retirement, all you want to do is just work more. Keep yourself busy with some work or the other. At this point, most start feeling rather anxious. And you can't blame them; Their whole routine has been changed!

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Gone are the days when they worked day and night, now all they can do is do some chores here and relax. Being used to having meetings and calls all day, it is hard to cope with the fact that now your phone is no longer filled with a hundred unread messages and missed calls. That is in fact why I don't prefer to use the word "disease" for this. It's simply a phase of life like any other. The antidote for this retirement "disease" is "Purpose". Having a purpose means having a new goal to achieve and that means keeping busy and getting rid of the Retirement Disease. And something that happens after retirement is that you can just do things for yourself. Yes, we always feel the need to show to others what we did and do but that's when we are free to do anything for our own happiness. Everyone already has a purpose and we just need to find it. Anything of interest that appeals to you and seems to give you joy can be called your true calling or rather a purpose that keeps your mind energized. Rishona Chopra Grade VII Gyanshree School

Do it for yourself - Rishona Chopra

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Often, we find ourselves doing things to please someone else. To get appreciation. We all are like that, even I. It makes me feel happy when one appreciates me. But there is one more thing to the appreciation - the pressure. 

When one appreciates you, you feel burdened to always do well, be an achiever and keep striving but when you fall in that cycle, you lose the joy of doing the task in the very first place. You now don't do it for self-pleasure but to please someone else.

When we do that, the task eventually becomes a burden and all happiness is replaced by fear and nervousness. Whatever we do, we should be doing it just for ourselves. Not for seeking prestige and glory. 

Why are we here in this world? What is our purpose? To do our part in the world and be kind. That is our purpose. And the key to fulfilling that purpose is to be happy and content with ourselves. To do all our tasks for mere joy and happiness.

I write because it gives me joy. I read because it takes me to another world. I play the piano because it makes my heart soar with happiness. If I did all these things for someone else then it wouldn't give me the same joy that it gave me before.

There are two meanings that come out when we say “ Do it for yourself”. One is that we do something because it gives us happiness. Because we love that task. The second is to help out someone else yet enjoy the task and not lose the joy in doing it.

Helping out someone is fantastic but everything we must do must be done with passion and happiness. If no joy, the beauty of the work itself disappears.

When you eat the food at a restaurant and when you eat something homemade, there is a humongous difference! The food at home is made with love and you can feel that while eating the food.  The joy and passion in work are shown similarly no matter how it may look or be.

When we say "Joy of learning" the keyword isn't "Learning", it is "Joy". We learn for our own joy and happiness. 

As said, live your life for you, not for anyone else.

Rishona Chopra

Grade VII

Gyanshree School

Allegory - A Tapestry of Guru Nanak’s Travels

Guru Nanak, an embodiment of Oneness, is a revolutionary spiritual teacher. Born in 1469, he traversed vast geographies for over two decades to visit congregational sites of diverse faiths with a noble interest in seeking and imparting universal fellowship.

“Allegory - A Tapestry of Guru Nanak’s Travels”, a 24-episode docuseries, sequentially explores Guru Nanak’s life events to unfurl the deep imports of his messages.

Filmed at over 150 multifaith sites in 9 countries, the docuseries is available in English, Punjabi (Gurmukhi), Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi (Shahmukhi).

Opening on Sunday, the 7th of January 2024, we will screen one documentary every fortnight at My Good School. Join us as a student/teacher of a GSA Members School or even as an individual. You can sign up from www.SchoolEducation.com.