Wormhole

 Many scientists postulate that wormholes are merely projections of a fourth spatial dimension, analogous to how a two-dimensional (2D) being could experience only part of a three-dimensional (3D) object. 

click to enlarge and see 2D humans on the blue plane

This picture was shot inside the foyer of the Dymocks Building in Sydney downtown. It shows how 3D humans may have been projected on a 2D surface akin to how such experience may arise in wormholes. The converse is also true. If I happen to be in a 2D universe I may experience 3D objects devoid of one of their dimensions. Thus it is possible that I may be a 2D object. 

Liberation

 I belong to a generation that worked briefly with wardrobe size computers that had no screens and could only be programmed with punch cards.

Yet, the old world I grew up in was bigger, wonderful and mysterious. Every place, every individual was a mystery, life was a mystery. It meant we had to dare, go out and discover the world physically. It meant not a morning passed without gleam and wonder.     

Then came the fast food, the Internet, the global village, the social media and the world lost it all.

I cannot stand banality of social media. Once upon a time I was there, guilty as charged. Quitting turned out to be liberation. I was free again. 

Memories

Memory declines by old age. You may be doing Crosswords, Sudoku, Wordle, DuoLingo or similar already. That is great. 

A 2019¹ studyTrusted Source researched the effect of computerised cognitive training (in areas such as reasoning, memory, language, and attention) on the progression of mild cognitive impairment. Results of the study showed that the training increased the brain’s grey matter volume and may help preserve general cognition².

I am learning Italian on Duolingo, a language learning app. It includes visual and audial sensory input that flex your memory. It combines fun and adjustable dose of stress that is necessary for learning.

I am now on my 39th consecutive day; I wake up, drink a glass of water, put my headphones on and study Italian with Duolingo for one hour. 

It is a great way to start your day. I feel exhilarated after that. 

It is too early to claim benefits, but it is fun. And it is not just potential benefits but other prospects interest me. I may join Italian talking groups one day, or start reading or listening to Italian radio. I don’t think I can ever talk in Italian fluently unless I move to Italy. But that is not my goal. 

💡Set yourself realistic goals   

Learning a new language is my second most important habit after waking up early. 

1: Cognitive Health and Older Adults

2: Best Brain Stimulating Games for Dementia and Why They Work

Wake up

If there is one smart habit among must have habits what would that be?

Wake up early and always at the same time seven days a week. 

In retirement, time and energy are your scarcest commodities. Waking up early has a double advantage. Your energy level is at its maximum and you gain useful day time.

Even if you break other habits don’t break this one. Waking up early is your most valuable tool against procrastination. 

💡  Set your alarm clock to a sensible time for 7 days a week, not later than 8 am.

Habits

One of the most pressing questions for new retirees is “what will I do?”

The first reaction will most likely be “I will do something,” which instantly becomes a pathetic lie. You cannot possibly do anything unless you know what that thing is. 

On average twenty percent of a white collar worker’s life is spent in an office even if we exclude holidays and sick leaves.  Considering our life long pursuit of earning bread and butter, office workers are no stranger to habits; we get up early in the morning, go through the morning chores, jump on a commute, stereotypically grab a coffee, go to the office, come back home exhausted every single work day. Our whole life is structured around work, so is our daily habits.

Suddenly we retire. The first morning comes. We wake up early with our genetically engineered bio-clock for a while. But then gradually for most of us the morning routine starts to slip. Why not we have a late breakfast, enjoy the freedom we deserve a little. Should we have pancakes or omelette? 

How about we skip shaving and try out a short stubble beard just like that actor your wife admired in a Scandinavian crime series? 

Before long, we are in a couch, legs extended, gazing at social media. Scrolling an endless stream of hardly meaningful messages; we ‘like,’ we scroll, we watch a cat video, we chuckle a little, we read news, we get upset, and so on. This takes at least an hour. In our small world we seem to be content. What else would you want anyway? Life is sweat.

The remaining day is spent with mundane activities, daily walk, household chores, supermarket shopping, more household chores and if we are lucky we go somewhere nice, have a coffee or light lunch. On a better day we might go to the art gallery, or the museum we always want to visit, or even better if weather permits we go to the beach; while thinking about skin cancer, we obsessively sun screen our shoulders, neck and face, we struggle getting rid of the sand stuck on our hands, we swim a little while thinking about sharks, we wash our feet obsessively using a public tap, we get annoyed by the sand we know we can never get rid of entirely, which by the way is going to ruin the car’s interiors. 

Similarly the evening routine starts to slip too. Let’s binge watch that crime drama, let’s have a little apperatif, maybe with a piece of chocolate, let’s watch how people are murdered sadistically while shivering a little, and always making sure to pause and remind ourselves the cozy little room we are in right now is inaccessible to manics and we must take pleasure from other peoples’ miseries, because we are now retired and hell yeah we deserve it. 

A month or two pass. We realise we are on the verge to become a potato with bumps around the belly resting on a worn off coach. Something is a miss, but what?

💡Start with developing new habits.