Skip to main content

Maybe Now It’s Time to Buy Back Time for Yourself and Your Loved Ones

They said time is money, So we sold our days To desks, deadlines, and duty.

Now the clock ticks softer. The pace slows down. And we wonder— Can we afford to buy back What we gave so freely?

Not to earn. Not to win. But just to live again.

1. The Paradox of Retirement in Kenya

Retirement, in theory, is supposed to be a season of rest. A time to exhale. To spend mornings slowly, reconnect with loved ones, and revisit the parts of yourself that got lost in the hustle. But for many Kenyans, retirement looks like another job.

We see people starting businesses immediately after leaving employment, becoming consultants, jumping into family obligations, or even relocating to their rural homes only to pick up farming or new responsibilities. Rest doesn’t feel earned—it feels guilty.

Instead of enjoying time with grandkids, learning something new, or simply sitting with the self, many continue running. But what if retirement—and seasons like it—were not a signal to do more, but an invitation to do differently?

2. What Does “Buying Back Time” Look Like in Kenya?

Buying back time doesn’t mean sitting idle or wasting away. It means consciously choosing to:

  • Rebuild neglected relationships – Visiting that cousin you used to be close with. Calling your grown children not to instruct, but to simply ask, “How are you doing?”

  • Learn to be alone without being lonely – Taking long walks in Karura, journaling under a tree in Uhuru Park, learning how to enjoy your own company.

  • Grieve the lost years – Not just lost people, but lost dreams, energy, or parts of yourself buried under responsibility.

  • Create new joys – Taking up pottery in retirement. Joining a book club in Kisumu. Planting a garden in Nyeri, not to sell, but just to enjoy.

  • Rest, truly – Sleeping in. Drinking tea without rushing. Listening to your body. Saying no without explanation.

Buying back time is about reclaiming life on your terms, now that the pressure to prove has lifted.

3. What Stops Us from Buying Back Time?

  • Cultural Scripts About Worth – In Kenya, worth is often tied to how busy or productive we are. Idleness is frowned upon. We internalize the belief that slowing down is wasteful or lazy, forgetting that rest is also generative.

  • Fear of Irrelevance – Some fear becoming forgotten or obsolete if they step away from the hustle. But what if relevance isn’t about doing, but about being present?

  • Guilt – After years of giving to others, it feels selfish to finally prioritize yourself. But self-care is not selfishness—it’s sustainability.

  • Financial Anxiety – Many retirees feel they must stay active because of unstable pensions or pressure to support extended family. Sometimes, the hustle continues not because we must, but because we don’t know how else to exist.

  • Lack of Models – We don’t often see examples of Kenyans retiring into joy. Most elders keep going until they physically can’t. We rarely talk about what healthy, soul-filling rest looks like.

4. How to Know It’s Time to Buy Back Time

  • You’ve reached financial or lifestyle stability.

  • You’re tired—but not just physically. Soul tired.

  • You’ve stopped dreaming beyond survival.

  • The people you love barely know the real you.

  • You feel like a stranger to your own joy.

  • You keep asking, “Is this it?”

These are not signs of failure. They are signals. And maybe now, finally, it’s time.

5. How Do You Begin to Buy Back Time?

  • Start Small – Rest an extra hour. Take yourself to Java, not for work, but just to sit.

  • Reconnect – Reach out to one person a week that you’ve drifted from—family, friends, even yourself.

  • Pursue Curiosity – Always wanted to learn French? Paint? Ride a bike again? Now is the time.

  • Set Boundaries – You’re not everyone’s savior. You can love people and choose peace.

  • Reflect – What have I lost that I want to reclaim? What new joys can I discover? What does a good, full life look like now?

6. In the End…

Time is the only thing we can’t get back. But in some seasons, we’re gifted the chance to reclaim it.

So if you're in your 50s, 60s, or 70s… If your kids are grown, your debts are paid, or your spirit is just tired… If you’ve worked your whole life just to be free...

Then maybe now—right now—is the time to buy back time for yourself. And for the ones you love.

Not to prove anything. Not to fix everything. But simply… to be.

Call to Action: Pause today and ask yourself—what would it mean to truly live on your own terms now? Don’t wait for a perfect moment. Choose a small way to reclaim time this week. And if this reflection moved you, share it with someone navigating a similar season. Let’s create a culture where rest is respected, and time is treasured.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Know Thyself: The Quiet Power of Naming Your Nature

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” — Carl Jung We live in a culture that equates good intentions with goodness, and ambition with ability. But very few people in Kenya—or anywhere—truly know what they are made of. We can name our qualifications and our dreams. But ask someone their vices or virtues, and they hesitate. Worse, they lie. The Danger of Self-Unawareness In Kenya today, many of us are wandering through life making choices—big, small, and irreversible—without truly understanding who we are. We end up in jobs we despise, relationships we shouldn’t be in, or positions of influence we aren’t emotionally or ethically equipped for. And at the root of this dysfunction is a simple truth: we don’t know ourselves. This is not a spiritual or abstract dilemma. It’s a deeply practical one. To know oneself is to understand your vices, your virtues, your weaknesses, and your strengths—not in a vague sense, but in detail. Let’s ge...
Post a Comment
Read more

Not All Disabilities Are Visible

Some pain does not leave a mark. Some exhaustion does not show in the face. Some people are carrying weights that have no name, no diagnosis, and no outward sign. We are used to recognizing suffering only when it can be pointed to — a bandage, a crutch, a cast, a wound. Something we can see. But the human interior is its own world, and often, the heaviest struggles live there. The Quiet Work of Holding Yourself Together There are those who walk into a room smiling, contributing, present — and yet they are holding themselves together one breath at a time. Not because they are pretending, but because they have learned to live with what would overwhelm another person. Some battles are fought inside the mind: The slow grey of depression The relentless hum of anxiety The sudden, unbidden memory that takes the body back to a place it never wants to return The deep fatigue that sleep does not cure And yet, life continues. The world moves. The dishes still need to be wa...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Loud Silence: Why Kenya Is Drowning in Noise—and What It's Costing Us

  “Beware the bareness of a busy life,” Socrates once said. But what about the loudness of a distracted one? From matatus blaring vulgar music, to church keshas echoing through residential estates, to restaurants where conversation is a fight against speakers—it seems Kenya has made noise the background of everyday life. But what is this obsession with sound? What is all this noise trying to drown out? Noise as Culture, But Also as Coping Let’s be clear: noise has always had a place in Kenyan culture. Luo benga, Kikuyu folk tunes, Luhya drumming, Swahili taarab… music and sound are part of celebration, spirituality, and storytelling. But what we’re experiencing now is different. What we’re hearing now is not cultural expression—it’s emotional avoidance. The Psychology of Noise: What Are We Running From? 1. Noise and Loneliness We live in a time of increasing isolation. Nairobi apartments are filled with single occupants. Friendships are transactional. Family members drift emo...
Post a Comment
Read more