Daily Archives: October 2, 2013

I”m a member of the inaugural class of the baby boomers, I was born in February of 1946,  As such I”m among the leaders of the coming parade of retires!  I take my responsibilities seriously so I would like to share with those that will soon join me, some thoughts three months in!!!!

 

Jump in!!  The water is fine!  I do however have some strong recommendations!

 

1.  Life is not about you, so, get on with finding a way to put an emphasis on others!!!

Many of us had jobs that put us in positions of power or prestige, the day you retire that evaporates!  If you are still holding on to that to make you feel o.k. overnight a huge void will descend on you!  Don’t let that happen, start now redirecting the emphasis of your life!

Ask God for His help, He already has a plan for your life, maybe it’s time to ask Him what His plans are for you!  Life is actually better without the power of the old job!!!!!  Grace beats power every time!

 

2.  Learn to relax!!!!  Most of your life there have been schedules to meet, planes to catch, emails to answer, calls to return, and reports to file, ( lots of reports)!!!!  Thankfully a lot of that is about to end, or at least slow way, way down!  So, if you’re addicted to busy, embrace relaxing!  Don’t get me wrong, retirement is still busy, just not with someone looking over your shoulder!!!!!   Learn to embrace being free from all the old tug a wars of the working life!  You’ll be surprised how quickly you feel better!

 

3.  Learn playing with the toys you have!!!  Part of the working life is, sadly, the acquisition of more and more toys!  As a photographer, I couldn’t live without the newest, latest technology, now I’m learning I can enjoy my craft without buying every new toy to come along!!!  I started “stocking up”,  with  my key needs before “retirement day” arrived.  Since I have less to spend it’s o.k., I was prepared!!!!  

 

4.  Spend more “quality” time with family and friends!  When I was still with Nikon I often thought my relationships felt like drive by shootings, now I’m experiencing the real joy of a relaxed relationship with Sherelene, the kids and grand kids!  When you think about it, they were the ones you worked to benefit, now you can benefit them with your time and attention!

 

5.  Make a list of goals.  I would suggest they include, things you want to do, see, learn, understand, and experience.  Don’t forget to start by asking God how you can serve Him!!!  Write a mission statement, mine is simple;

 

“Give God every day, try to leave every person and situation better off than before I came into their lives or state of affairs.  Always remember, we are all God’s children, and they He gave His Son for each of them!  Help me to forgive as freely as I’ve been forgiven!  I hope to bring smiles and laughter into the lives of others!  May God get the glory for anything good that comes out of my life!”

 

6.  Be thankful!!!  You have probably lived an incredible life, be thankful for it!

 

7.  Take some naps, have some ice cream, shoot some great images, and live a full life every day you wake up on this side of the grass!!!!

 

Enjoy your retirement……

 

Blessings,

 

The pilgrim