Richard, I felt much the same way. Since, I didn't contribute to society, I didn't feel I was relevant anymore. What I found out was there are many other ways to be a useful member of society. For one, I now get to spend a lot more time with family, friends, and neighbors. I take my nieces and nephews fishing every chance I get. They like it (almost as much as I do) and I get to mentor them to be stewards of the environment. I have been able to help neighbors and friends with anything from projects around the house to building a house. The thanks I get are far more sincere than anything I ever got from work. I volunteer to help do wetlands restoration, plant mangroves and trap nuisance gators. I have time to be involved with the political process beyond just voting and maybe something good can come of it (but I am not holding my breath). And as my DW pointed out, by leaving the workforce, I opened up a job opportunity for someone else. Opportunities to help out seem to come up all the time. While I was working, I never had time for any of them. Now I get to pick and choose. In reality, if I continued to work another year or decade, I think would have still felt guilty when I left. I had to learn other ways to be useful for myself. Now after 9 months, I don't feel nearly as guilty. Particularly on Monday mornings.