And Suddenly You Know: It’s time to start something new

And suddenly you know: It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings. Meister Eckhart

I woke up this morning to my alarm at five. It was still dark outside. We live on a busy street but traffic is sparse so early in the morning. It’s garbage day in my neighborhood; I heard the big, heavy, noisy trucks in the distance. I’m wondering what I’ll wear today; I love that black pencil skirt dress with those new Christian Louboutin’s. My calendar pops into my mind…what’s scheduled?

And then I remember. I am retired.

Re-tire-ment. I left my business career two years ago this month. It was with great joy and some trepidation that I stopped “working”. Isn’t that interesting? When we leave a career for retirement, it’s said that we stopped working. Society assumes we have accomplished our life goals, that it’s time to slow down, we are re-tired.

Not me. I am not tired.

Waking up and hopping out of bed at five is a left-over habit from work. I’ve also discovered that I thoroughly enjoy the peace that is only experienced just before sunrise. Meditation is deeper. Writing ideas and words flow easily. Sitting alone with a lovely cup of tea, in the dark house, watching the sunrise as sky blue pink spans the horizon. I’m in no rush. Every day is Saturday. Or Sunday. My choice.

Society says I have retired. I say I have re-fired.

I have re-fired into being even more of myself. My path, my life, prior to age fifty-three was controlled and ordained by others. Yes, I allowed that to occur. My path, and life, after age fifty-three, has been controlled and ordained by me. The plan was to work until I was seventy. I unexpectedly met and married my Soul Mate at sixty-five and left my career at sixty-seven. Now I am re-fired!

About 17% of people over 55 listens to podcasts. Well, I began hosting a podcast when I was 65 and my niche was women over 50. A small segment of listeners, right? I had never done anything like podcasting. The learning curve was huge! My podcast ran for almost 5 years, gained 8,000 monthly downloads and was heard around the world. NPR type podcasts get 8,000+ downloads per episode. By comparison, I was small potatoes. I am proud of the…