Alone With a Piano – TYPiNG ouT oF THe BLue

Lately, I’ve been curious about something I’ve seen in other people—the quiet crisis that appears before retirement. It’s not dramatic. It usually begins with a small question in their mind: “What happens after all of this?” And watching them face it makes you realize that sooner or later, every one of us will reach that same turning point.

You can see how long-time workers start to shift inside. They’ve spent years carrying responsibilities, solving problems, and being the steady presence everyone depends on. So when retirement comes into view, the whole idea feels unfamiliar. Not frightening, not sad—just a different rhythm they haven’t tried before.

Then the deeper questions follow.

What will my days look like?
Will I still feel useful?
Who am I when the routine slows down?

People call this a pre-retirement crisis. It’s not a breakdown. It’s the heart adjusting after decades of structure and purpose. When someone has poured so much of their life into work, stepping away from that rhythm naturally creates a pause.

But retirement isn’t an ending. It’s a shift in tempo. A season where people can choose their own pace, their own mornings, and their own kind of purpose. They don’t lose themselves—they just begin shaping a personal chapter that’s been waiting in the background for years.

Maybe this whole phase is life giving them space to prepare for that new chapter—one that finally belongs to them after giving so much to everyone else.

Old • Darem Placer

Thoughts drift like clouds across a fading sky—until I find myself in a quiet room—Alone With a Piano.

Listen to Alone With a Piano on Apple Music and YouTube Music

**Alone with a Piano** includes **Old.**

⌨ ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ

The Department of Health (DOH) is pushing for a total vape ban because the risks are now clearer than the marketing. Vapes were promoted as the “lighter option,” but hospitals began seeing young people with breathing problems, early lung damage, and fast nicotine addiction—even among teens who never smoked before.

That’s why the DOH is taking a firm stance. They warn that vape aerosol contains chemicals that can harm the lungs and the heart, and recent studies around the world support this. Vaping isn’t harmless, and it is spreading among teenagers faster than traditional cigarettes ever did.

Some people online say, “Then cigarettes should be banned too.”

But that idea doesn’t match reality.

It is extremely difficult to ban cigarettes outright.

Cigarettes are tied to long-standing laws, heavy taxes, farming industries, and millions of adult smokers who have relied on them for decades. Removing them overnight would create black markets, enforcement problems, and the same failures seen in past attempts to ban alcohol or drugs. Most countries focus on reducing smoking, not instantly erasing it.

Vapes are different. They spread fast, attract younger users, and are marketed in ways that seem harmless when they are not. That is why the DOH is focusing on them now.

The goal is simple: protect the young before the habit becomes a long-term problem.

Vaping isn’t the “light” choice it claims to be.

And the DOH wants the next generation growing up with healthy lungs, not early trouble.

Smoking an Unlighted Cigarette • Darem Placer

Thoughts drift like clouds across a fading sky, until you find yourself in a quiet room—Alone with a Piano.

Listen to Alone with a Piano on Apple Music and YouTube Music

**Alone with a Piano** includes ***Smoking an Unlighted Cigarette.***

⌨ ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ

Tag: Alone With a Piano

The Quiet Crisis Before Retirement

Why the DOH Wants a Total Vape Ban