‘Living life to the full’

I rather associate that phrase with those pictures of improbably youthful-looking 'oldies' urging me to buy retirement apartments or investments (sometimes cavorting on white sheets)
I don't think it has ever occurred to me not to live my life in the best way that I can.

I have no idea what it means - have no bucket list of things I want to do before I die - just to be able to do as I please when I want is enough. We don't holiday and at 66 my husband retired for the second time at Christmas only to get another job last week which will be 4 days a week 27 miles away. He would only have been bored at home anyway

I have a chronic illness which means my days of romping up Snowden are over

However, living life to the full? I can do that in my living room. Welcoming the children and grandchildren to our home. Listening to their tales. Regaling them with stories of my life . Which was somewhat wild. Playing shops and hospitals with the children where they wrap me in bandages until I resemble a Mummy

When it's just the 2 of us we laugh and chat

I do colouring in and play games. Fortnite being my favourite. I potter round our far too big garden. I feed the birds and watch them from the window. Got quite a clan now.

I get out now and then but it's exhausting and causes pain so my 'living life to the full' is perfect for me.

Washerwoman your afternoon sounds perfect to me. I agree that contentment is underrated, some people like adventure and travel others love being at home with friends and family. Just enjoy your life in your own way. We don't have to conform to stylised ideas in the media etc.

Not that adventurous and strangely I still prefer the company of the aggravating old grump to anybody else's

Thanks for that comment 52bright. Made me think of my aggravating old grump in a new light.

I am a great believer that all problems have solutions – you just have to think about what they are.

Not so sure that’s true Absent

I don’t really want to climb mountains, go on exotic holidays etc. (Well at least I accept that I cannot )

I would just like to be able to relax, enjoy my family, potter in the house and garden, perhaps have the occasional trip out or meal in a restaurant. As things stand I am struggling to see any light at the end of this very long tunnel. At 58 I feel like my “life” is slipping away and I’ve done nothing with it .

I feed the birds and watch them from the window. Got quite a clan now.

Me too Oopsminty. Relaxing isn’t it until the robin gets territorial.

Maybe this 'living life to the full' is a Western concept?

The way I understand it, Western thinking tends towards problem solving and goal setting.

By contrast, Eastern thinking sees life as a journey to be appreciated, going with the flow.

Therefore, we can change our lives simply by changing the way we think about them.

(One thing I do know, life's definitely not a competition to visit the usual tourist destinations before you die!)

One thing I do know, life's definitely not a competition to visit the usual tourist destinations before you die!)

I certainly agree with you there Hetty58 .

I think it’s about what you yourself call living. I’m nit an adrenaline junkie more of a slow mover! I reach sixty next week and think well I’m still here and plodding on! Don’t need bungee jumps or far flung excursions to prove I’m living just being here does it for me!

I like to follow Bon Jovi’s philosophy - I’ll sleep when I am dead. As well as visiting my mother every day and doing the school run twice, This week I have been to the theatre, the cinema and three sessions of art as well as an exhibition and had two dinners out with friends. I enjoy a pyjama day once in a while but life is for living.

I think it's an idea that has been peddled to us, fuelled by social media, in much the same way as those wonderful family events are.
It's unrealistic for the most part; but then some people set up foundations to help others, or raise thousands for charity..

Have some 'different' days. They don't have to be dramatic or spectacular.

Maybe just make a packed lunch and go exploring, have dinner with a friend, get a train to the coast or visit somebody. Organise relaxed family get-togethers too.

They are the days you remember. The 'ordinary' ones just merge and fade.

I am very fond of travel programmes on the TV!

Even then I prefer escape to the country.
It's so relaxing to watch.

What a refreshingly honest thread. Thank you Artdecogran. It seems to me that an acceptance of things as they are is necessary to live life to the full and the ability to find pleasure in what we have around and available to us.

gillybob sorry I don't know your circumstances but is there anything that could make life easier for you? Could you enjoy cooking, gardening, a pet to have some focus?

There's a certain merit in the phrase 'Living life to the full' but I don't take it to mean charging around and ticking off the bucket list.

To me it's making the most out of what you've got and not wallowing and allowing inertia to set in. I do various activities, work part-time, travel a bit, meet friends, cinema, etc. I can also sit and do nothing - but not for too long.

Like Humbert and Bon Jovi, I'll sleep when I'm dead!

I am very fond of travel programmes on the TV!

Me too luckygirl

I’ve travelled to several countries in the past but watching travel programmes now I’m getting even more of a feel for the culture and scenery than I did just travelling in a vehicle. Aerial shots make such a difference.

Each to their own- surely, and that is fine.

I would agree with Hetty58

I think a bit of variety in life is the secret for everyone.

Although most do find comfort in routine it’s a known psychological fact that we also crave a bit of variety in our lives.

I guess though it all boils down to doing what makes us happy .

I love spending time with my family and friends. I love holidays in this country and abroad, but I also find pleasure in something simple like walking into the village with my husband and popping in for a coffee before walking back.

Sometimes though just pottering around at home is my choice.

I’m very content to sit at home and sew ... and spend time with my family... lunch out with my DH .... and spend a few weeks here and there on our narrowboat.... got no desire for foreign travel .... just content with my lot!!

When I retired I had a huge list of all the things I was going to now be able to do and I set to work trying to do them. I was quickly exhausted and overwhelmed! I culled my list so that now I can pick and choose. Now I enjoy simple things like meetings friends and my DS for lunch, reading and generally stepping out of the whirlwind. I’m just trying to concentrate on staying healthy for as long as possible.

I am really not that interested in travelling the world. Most holidays have been with family, we rent a large house, we do the shopping and cooking we help with childcare. I return home for much needed rest.
Health issues have kept us at home for four years, am I bothered ? Not a bit, we have nice meals out or sit in the garden with champagne. I am working my way through a very large book collection and if I want to see the rest of the world I watch a travelogue DVD, see the sights without needing any injections or getting letters from Dr to say I am fit to travel.
DH travelled the world for his job and is happy not to do long haul flights any more.

I like to pootle along taking each day as it comes. However we had a wake-up call 3 yrs ago with the return of DH cancer so I thought we had better start doing things we'd put off. So that first year we had a few trips. Went to places we'd always wanted to and there are a few more. I think it made us more adventurous or rather more daring. I don't mean parachute jumping but for example, we've been invited to a wedding in India and we just might go but then again we might not.
Shakespeare never left England and Rabbie Burns never left Scotland so if you think travel broadens the mind, think again.

gillybob -I think the media, especially the Sunday supplements, encourage people to feel that they have to be out and about, partying, socialising, holidaying or they do not have a fulfilling life.

I do not agree - caring for and loving our family and friends, helping in the community in some way - these are entirely sufficient fulfilment for me.

I know that you have financial and other problems to contend with; but do not underestimate your presence and your love of your family as valuable "commodities", however unglamorous they might seem. I am sure that your family value you - I hope life takes a better turn for your soon.