It’s almost impossible to do nothing, so why not settle for doing less? That’s more doable!
When I started this blog a few years ago, Beth and I were in the process of decluttering our home. Over the course of a few months we sold, donated or threw away 75% of what we owned. What was left we put in a storage locker (later a barn) and the rest stays in Youngsville or comes with us in our 22’ tow trailer.
I still remember the strong reactions that many of our friends had to this phase of our lives. It was clear that many wanted to own less but feared the steps to get there and doubted their resolve.
My memories are linked to my belongings. When I downsize, I feel like I’m stripping away the past and threatening a version of the future where I am surrounded by my treasures.
Perhaps there is a difference between what I think I will need and what I really need. That’s been my experience.
The same is true for simplifying my lifestyle. I have discovered that a simple day is much more pleasurable than a busy one.
For example, I like lounging with a book in the morning, enjoying my coffee outside and then making my way (around 11 am) to the gym, the pool and then to a shower. Along the way, I chat with folks, have a few laughs and then eat a late lunch. The afternoon is for reading and a little writing and, perhaps, a nap or a little food shopping. Then it’s more reading, chatting with Beth, and enjoying dinner and a couple of TV episodes (currently the old show, ER). Then it’s bedtime.
Sounds like retirement, but it ain’t. We are still working, but not as hard as we used to. That said, our programs and our songs have never been so effective at helping individuals and schools. We are at the top of our game still reinventing how we serve the needs of others.
Gone, though, are the summers when we did 100+ shows at libraries and endured six hours of travel and setup for every one hour we spent onstage. Gone is the ambition to “make it” and impress ourselves and others with our work ethic or accomplishments. And gone is the need to have three drinks at the end of every day to counter the anxiety of raising a family, owning a home and proving myself in the marketplace.
I’m know that I am lucky.
Fortunately, I began this process of slowing down and refocusing in my fifties. Beth and I realized that we had more to give by sharing more of our hearts and minds and less of excitable, manic energy. Most of our “work” these days is coming into alignment with our preferred energy level – relaxed and loving.
I did believe for a long time that using up all my energy was noble. I believed that being used up at the end of one’s working day is a mark of a life well-lived. I don’t believe that any more.
Retirement isn’t easy for doers and giving away our belongings can be agonizing. But both are freeing!
They require us to rethink our definition of our work and our wealth and disconnect it from our worth.
