Monday On My Mind
I read something the other day that was about how right now we (you, me, the world) are in this sort of in-between stage. We know we aren’t going back to the way things were but we also don’t know what the new reality is going to be. The article referred to this as an in-between stage, where things can can feel scary and uncertain. But the article went on to point out that this is also a stage of opportunity. A chance to reinvent ourselves and decide who we want to be and how we want to impact the world.
It’s pretty cool, right?
I think it’s why so many people, at least in my circle of influence, have retired since last March. The pandemic stripped away the frivolous stuff, it forced them to contemplate what really matters and how they really want to spend their time. Not only did I have two people who work for me choose to retire, I also witnessed the retirement of many colleagues, and it made total sense to me. Some friends realized they were truly enjoying being home all the time. Others decided they didn’t need the stress of working in a pandemic. The change was initially forced on them but they embraced it and changed direction.
I can’t retire yet and truthfully, as delightful as it sounds, I know I’m not ready. But I wonder, what has the pandemic stripped away for me? What have I realized really matters and what can I drop by the wayside? What can I do to reinvent myself to be better?
Heavy questions for a Monday, right? But so important and I hope you’ll think about them, too.
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We have been thinking a lot about this very thing. What do we want to add back once life returns to “normal” and we have an ongoing discussion about this.
Tom and I talk about this all the time! I truly think that it’s been a long enough time now that “normal” is really up for grabs. We’ll all need to be thoughtful and intentional, though, about making sure our “new normal” into what we WANT it to be. XO
It’s a big topic at our dinner table, and in my phone conversations with Ryan, too. We haven’t yet arrived at any answers, but I know that lots of things (and we ourselves) will be different.
I announced my retirement last Wednesday! (After a particularly unpleasant Tuesday.) October 15th is the day and I am looking forward to what the future brings and what I can do to help make it better!
I announced my retirement in January 2020 with no idea of what was ahead. It was a weird time to retire and I am still not sure what life will look like as things reopen. We are also having this conversation about what is important and what we can let go as things begin to open up. I think we will have to be strong if our plans don’t involve just “getting back to normal” because there won’t understand our perspective. But I am also looking at this as an opportunity to be intentional. Good thoughts for a Monday.
Lots to ponder over, certainly. There is a line from a Bob Seger song that has been running in my head lately “what to leave in, what to leave out”. I’m hoping for a life more intentionally lived.
I traded messages with a friend last week about this time being so challenging because we have choices … last year when everything shut down, it wasn’t choice at all. I know folks who’ve moved, too – again, not wanting to “put off til later” something they know they want to do. Sometimes hard questions are just the ones we need to be pondering!
I read an article about that as well. I am retired, so I am just sitting back and seeing what things look like this summer and what I pick on a daily basis to do and not to do. It will be an interesting situation for sure.
It definitely has been a season of being in limbo for all of us. Like you, I am not able to retire (even though I ask Ken daily..LOL), so I am working on what I can drop by the wayside as well to make my travel towards that goal a bit easier, while practicing being present in the moment and open to what life brings us. <3
One can’t help but think about the next steps of this changing world. I have thought so often about what I really want to do and how much I want to do (out there). I’m still in the process of deciding.
I can’t retire yet either, but would love to be doing something else for work. I wish someone would re-invent me for me!