Knocking Down the Walls to Freedom

I’ve sort of been retired since January of 2019. That was when I lost my full-time job due to an office closing. It was not painful. I disliked the company I worked for – our values and ideas of good business didn’t align. I love work and loved my clients, but was increasingly exhausted by my company. Some of you understand.

Oh, I did the rounds of interviews, where I discovered I hated the way today’s hiring process is set up. I worked a full-time job for one month. For various reasons that job did not work out – oh, that’s an entertaining story in itself.

I have worked for open enrollment firms, contract jobs that have me explaining benefits to employees of large companies. That’s great because it only lasts for weeks to a couple of months. I also did a six- month part time job. That was fine, but not fully satisfying. I was happy when that was over.

I did a tiny bit of open enrollment work this year – but no more than a week or so total.

I also write. I’ve locked that down to one deadline a month. It’s a profile I write on a local musician once a month. Certainly my passion, but it takes a lot of time. I’ve done it for several years now and it’s gotten to be a stress in my life. Picking a musician, trying to feature diversity, scheduling an interview, conveying the uniqueness of each musician, and writing the article.

Beyond the local article I write for our local news magazine, I have a goal of featuring these musicians so their reach is outside our immediate area. I thought the articles would eventually end up online, but that hasn’t happened. I don’t even feel as though I have room to think about how I can meet my goal in other ways.

All this to say I’m doing the end of year evaluation. I have already started striving for more freedom in my life. I’m dropping out of things that require specific time commitments. I’m considering I may need to stop the monthly writing commitment. What do my goals need to be now?

I’m in my prime travel years and want that to be a major focus. I know as I get older travel could get more difficult. It can happen out of nowhere.

There are so many books I want to read. I’m not getting it done.

I spend a lot of time watching trials on YouTube. I’ve seen corruption existing throughout our court systems in the US. Do our local courts and law enforcement reflect a strong and healthy sense of justice for “the least of these”?

Am I moving my body and staying strong and flexible or letting it deteriorate before it’s time?

As for my local musicians, is there a way I can help get them attention depending on their goals?

And then there are family and friends – am I spending enough time making memories with them?

We don’t have to wait until a new year is on the horizon to re-evaluate our life, but if we find ourselves with questions about whether we’re living the life that satisfies, we need to give it some thought. I love that my life has been so full, and yet also I don’t aim for perfection. Still, I think it’s time for a slight shake-up. More retirement, but instead of stagnating moving forward.

And how are you doing? Are you doing things because you’re in a rut or living a life full of fun and purpose? Are your current values being lived well in your life?