When I retired from active ministry two months ago, I told myself I wanted to leave space open to see what wanted to emerge. I thought I would spend time looking out the window waiting for something to bubble up. That’s not what happened. My husband and I did have a lovely trip to Puerto Rico which I’ll tell you about, but instead of all that quiet gazing, inspiration grabbed me by the collar and suddenly I’m as busy as I was, just doing different activities. I am reminded of that saying “Wherever you go, there you are.” I always thought of that as the answer when you try to solve a problem by changing geography. Turns out it’s just as true when it comes to changing your focus. I have to admit that although looking out a window on a snowy days has romantic appeal to me, I’m much more interested in being in the fray—offering my contributions to light up the world in the way that’s mine to do.
In January I found out about the Hay House Bookwriters’ Bootcamp and knew it was for me. I learned so much. I’m working on my third book right now and realize I was clueless about the publishing world when I wrote the first two. I also joined the member group. Then, because I learned that you need a robust platform to market any book, I joined the Fearless Writer’s Challenge offered by Tim Denning and Todd Brison and now I’m navigating the world of Substack.
So much is new. Yikes! But what a world where instead of winding down at my age, waiting at the bus stop for life to be over, I can enter entirely new worlds of learning. It’s the epitome of being alive and I don’t ever want to stop. Along the way I’m engaging with new communities. The world is just full of wonderful people. I’ll tell you more about my book in the next post so this doesn’t get too long. And I’ll tell you about Puerto Rico too, but that will have to be a post of its own. And I promise to do it before next week when I head to Hawaii!
Thank you for joining me on this new day of my life. I hope you are finding passion and joy in whatever is brand new in your life on this new day we are all sharing.
I love how you are following your passion and recognize the gifts you have to share. Retirement should be a time where you get to focus fully on what you choose to. You’ve opened up space for yourself and it’s exciting to see what is emerging!
You're always an inspiration, Jane, wherever you are! ❤️