Great piece! One thing you alluded to that can make it much easier to be like water is that you're no longer anchored to one spot by a job. You can, as you did, move to the other coast. You can downsize and move to a less expensive locale. You can take the time to learn a craft - when my dad found himself retired in his 50s, he found a carpenter to teach him how to work with wood. He proceeded to design and make furniture for everyone in our family.