I do what I like and I like what I do

Many people asked me what I have been doing since I quitted my full time job a few years ago ... I told them I have not been doing a lot ... just taking it slow and easy. Most people understand my simple way of life. But then there are a few who think differently ... they think I should do something more prolific with my life.

I don’t know how prolific they want me to be ... maybe I should go backpacking around world, be a volunteer in an international aid organization, join a green movement to save the world or go build homes for the unfortunates in third world countries. You know what? Someone actually suggested that I should write a book.

People asked me ... “Don’t you want to do something before you die?”

Well, I understand the good intention in the question but really, it has never occurred to me that I have to do something worthy or significant before I die. No, I don’t have big dreams. I have never wanted to travel and see wonders of the world, don't have any intentions to volunteer in any aid organization and have not done anything noteworthy in my life that I can write about.

I don’t have big aspirations ... just small and very simple dreams. As a young school boy, when the teacher asked me what is my ambition ... I did not say I want to be a doctor or a pilot or an engineer (that was what most of my classmates said) ... I just wanted to get out of school as soon as possible, find a job, buy a house, find someone I love, get married, have children and live an easy simple life. And that is exactly what I did ... over the years, bit by bit, piece by piece ... I have put them all together ... my simple dreams fulfilled.

I don’t know how many years I have left in my life and I don’t have big plans for it ... I am happy with whatever that comes along. If the weather is good, I go out to enjoy the nature and if it is a rainy day, I will hit the couch with a book, watch an old movie I downloaded or practice a new song with my erhu. When there are cheap flight tickets offered, I will go on a budgeted holiday wherever it may be. Whenever I find a good recipe, I will try it out with my family and friends.

Now, do I want to do something do before I die? YES of course ... I do what I like (even if it is not something worthy) ... that is the freedom I wanted. And I like what I do (even if it is not something significant) ... that is the happiness I enjoyed.

Don’t trouble trouble unless trouble troubles you

I bumped into a friend at a local coffee shop ... a doctor that I knew for many years now. We chatted and I asked his opinions on an article that I read about a group of medical practitioners encouraging people NOT to go for medical check-ups.

The good doctor said this  ... “Don’t trouble trouble unless trouble troubles you” ... he then stressed ... “This is my personal opinion NOT my professional opinion”. Well, I am sure you understand what he said and what he meant. I don’t think I will find many medical professionals who share the same opinion.

Many medical practitioners and health specialists will say that people who are in their later years should have thorough medical examinations more frequently ... older people should constantly monitor their health as they grow older, they advised.

I disagree ... but that is just my personal opinion. I am not here to advise you not to go for medical check-ups ... if you want to find out what health issues you have, it is entirely up to you.

My point here is ... do older people really need to purposely go find out what is wrong with them? That is what medical check-ups are for ... to find out what is wrong with your health ... right? Really, if you do a medical examination, you are bound to find something wrong ... I am not joking.

The way I see it ... for old uncles like me, a thorough medical examination will definitely show a list of health issues. Some may not be serious ... just aches and pains. Well, actually that is a good sign ... put it this way, when you have lived more than half a century, if it is not painful it is probably not working anymore. But then there will be some issues that can be considered quite serious ... though may not be life threatening yet but can be quite worrying. So, do you want to know?

It is not that I am asking you not to care about your well-being ... I am sure you are very much aware of what to do and what to avoid. Like me, I am sure you will watch your diet, do the exercises, play some active games, run a few miles, trek a few mountains, try to stay as healthy as you can ... I think that is good enough. Don’t worry, trust your body ... it is an amazing piece of machinery ... if something is not right, it will tell you ...  then you can deal with it.

Really, everyone has health issues that lay hidden inside us ... there are always there. They may not threaten you if you don’t know where they are. But if you look for them, you WILL find something ... all too often, you will find trouble.