10/20/25 — The Final Countdown (Journal Entry Dissection: #Philosophy #Nature #Seat)
- Kurt Bell
- Oct 20
- 3 min read
About These Posts
Each day I add a new journal entry to my social media feeds. Here, I take that day’s entry and expand it through the lens of my Good Life Creed, which you can read about in my book Going Alone (available for free on this website). These dissections aim to connect ordinary reflections with the enduring objectives and principles of the Creed.
Journal Entry (10/20/25)
I’ve entered the home stretch until the start of Social Security at age sixty-two. All that planning and scheming, saving and carefully calculated spending to get home to Japan in time for the rest of our lives comes to an end next spring, when we apply to begin early withdrawal of benefits from a system Yumiko and I have each contributed to throughout our working lives. Some people choose to wait until they are older to receive greater benefits, but I’m doubtful my good health will last that long, and I’d rather not postpone an early—if more modest—retirement while still healthy, in favor of a later one encumbered by the fact or specter of illness and decline. So, eight months to go…
When we came to Japan, we’d budgeted just enough to see us safely through to early summer 2026, and somehow, it seems we are almost there. It’s the final countdown of our #RetiringInJapan story—a journey years in the making. I admit I’m a little nervous now as we approach the end. Nervous about placing so much of our long-term well-being in the hands of an entitlement system so far away, in a country often fraught with uncertainty. But this was the destination we set for ourselves over the course of our working lives—trust in a system we contributed to all our working lives, and in the millions like us who contribute and depend upon it together.
Eight more months. Time now to prepare carefully for the change ahead, and for the new financial rhythm that will define and sustain the rest of our lives.
Dissection
This reflection captures the threshold between preparation and arrival—the moment when long planning begins to yield to lived reality. What was once an abstract goal now takes shape as a tangible, time-bound transition. The tone is steady and philosophical, grounded in acceptance rather than anxiety.
#Philosophy (The Season of Philosophy)
This moment embodies a reflective stage of life, when understanding and acceptance replace striving and ambition. The decision to begin benefits early is not merely financial—it reflects a broader embrace of life as it is, not as it might ideally be.
#Nature (The Principle of Nature)
The acceptance of aging and change as natural progressions reflects a clear alignment with this principle. There is no rebellion against time here, only acknowledgment that health and fortune move in accordance with nature’s own rhythm.
#Seat (The Best Seat in the House)
Amid uncertainty and the uneasy trust in distant systems, there is calm. This is the best seat in the house—watching life’s transitions unfold without agitation, observing the flow rather than attempting to control it.
Takeaway
The closing approach to retirement marks not an ending but a philosophical deepening—a seat from which to watch the next act of life unfold with patience and perspective. To live well now is to accept that uncertainty is the nature of all things, and that peace lies in understanding rather than control.
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