I've moved my blog to WP: idefiningi.wordpress.com
March 7, 2013
saving (v.)
It's been exactly one week since I finally dredged up the mature will inside to bring myself to the bank, seek out an investment specialist, and open up my first RRSP account. I tied up my hard-earned money and dropped it into this ephemeral file where if all things go as planned, I won't be able to touch it until...
I'm 71 years old
or I buy a house.
It's made me feel really young all of a sudden - but also kind of old, because I'm officially "saving for retirement."
This really has got me thinking about saving - and not in the sense of putting money away for a rainy day (or for when you're old and dreary), but rather, the act of saving in general - the notion that we often "save it for later", postpone it, whether for good or for bad.
But there is reason to this madness. It makes sense to look onward into the horizon of our lives and prepare for times ahead. Saving pennies for when the clouds amass; saving the last bite to indulge in later; saving our special dishes for the perfect occasion. It's a way to "ensure" (or is it "insure") what the future will bring, feel a sense of control over our experience in the face of time. And there's nothing wrong with that.
And what can be said of saving things for the sake of keeping them around... to remind us the past?
And where do retirement savings fit in when it comes to all of this? Will I one day pull my gazillions of dollars of savings (optimistic) and thank myself, just as I hoped or planned? Or regret that I hadn't spent it on something already? When I'm grey-haired and wrinkly, will my savings make me sigh in relief because of the security they will bring, or will my savings carry baggage from the past, memories of saving up a small fortune for my future ungrateful self?
What is worth saving and what is it being saved for? An interesting consideration for mortal beings such as we.
Which reminds me of one of my favourite quotes:
I'm 71 years old
or I buy a house.
It's made me feel really young all of a sudden - but also kind of old, because I'm officially "saving for retirement."
This really has got me thinking about saving - and not in the sense of putting money away for a rainy day (or for when you're old and dreary), but rather, the act of saving in general - the notion that we often "save it for later", postpone it, whether for good or for bad.
But there is reason to this madness. It makes sense to look onward into the horizon of our lives and prepare for times ahead. Saving pennies for when the clouds amass; saving the last bite to indulge in later; saving our special dishes for the perfect occasion. It's a way to "ensure" (or is it "insure") what the future will bring, feel a sense of control over our experience in the face of time. And there's nothing wrong with that.
And what can be said of saving things for the sake of keeping them around... to remind us the past?
And where do retirement savings fit in when it comes to all of this? Will I one day pull my gazillions of dollars of savings (optimistic) and thank myself, just as I hoped or planned? Or regret that I hadn't spent it on something already? When I'm grey-haired and wrinkly, will my savings make me sigh in relief because of the security they will bring, or will my savings carry baggage from the past, memories of saving up a small fortune for my future ungrateful self?
What is worth saving and what is it being saved for? An interesting consideration for mortal beings such as we.
Which reminds me of one of my favourite quotes:
“For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.”
― Carl Sagan
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