I will never forget the one time I purchased an item from IKEA, say thirty years ago. It was a small night table for my son. The box contained a variety of pressboard pieces, a bag of nuts, bolts, washers and a slip of paper titled “Instructions.”
The picture on the box was my end target, but the directions included were less than clear and precise. It reminds me of retirement, in its broadest sense, in that the way forward is filled with imprecise directions.
Yes, I know the goal is to stay healthy, engaged, purposeful, whole-hearted and generative. But the directions on how to get there is for each of us to determine the how, when, where and if it aligns with what we care most about.
In the end, I assembled the night table with its one drawer and shelf beneath……but not before I assembled it incorrectly. Twice.
Little did I know then that I was practicing for retirement.
