Hey You! Sprint Into That Wall.

Don't think of retiring from the world until the world will be sorry that you retire. I hate a fellow whom pride or cowardice or laziness drive into a corner, and who does nothing when he is there but sit and growl. Let him come out as I do, and bark.
-Samuel Johnson

Men and women approaching retirement age should be recycled for public service work, and their companies should foot the bill. We can no longer afford to scrap-pile people.
-Maggie Kuhn

Those who reach for endless possibility demand a new definition for the term success. Ultimate laziness should not serve as a model characteristic. Yet, it seems that the modern world marvels at the sight of a citizen who can afford to do nothing. It’s time we reexamine what motivates us and provide incentives for a productive lifestyle as opposed to a stagnant existence that not only deteriorates the beholder of said laziness but also the environment that is utilized.

Overnight, stockpiling wealth has turned in a sport. The plus sign has become more important than the possibilities that gold can provide. The popularity of reinvestment has declined, mostly due to apathy, forced fear, and lack of drive. Why do we praise those who are more concerned with refinishing the golden throne than expanding their entrepreneurship and stimulating the environment that enabled their fortune?

Inactivity at a poverty level has also been looked up to by the struggling community. With current legislation, breeding alone can cut a check. Welfare has become a goal when it should really be a punishment, for taking from the pot to feed a failing comrade makes it hard to fully extend the reach of the masses.

Something as glorious as a track race can be used as a metaphor for the destruction of our society. In a race, a runner prepares for the task at hand. When the gun is fired, the runner pushes with all the available strength to reach the finish line before anyone else. Once they cross the stripped line, they can walk it off and spend the rest of their time relaxing. Reach until you don’t have to anymore, then you can chill. There is a reason we fall in love with Forest Gump every time we watch the film. He keeps running. He doesn’t care for end zones or finish lines. There is no end to his legacy. Now, his restaurant chain carries his name amongst the glowing skyscrapers aligning Times Square.

Notoriously, advice is dispersed to the youth of today, suggesting that we begin funding our retirement. Virtually, we are expected to spend our vibrate, youthful energy to nurture our decaying self. Get ready to do nothing! An adequate retort, during a time serenaded in apathy, might be to consider investing energy in the now. Let the now define a person. Take hold and drive forward until the cylinders die off. Don’t allow rest and the fear of survival to void your entire existence.