I am not retired. The word retired sounds like a swear word to me. When people ask “how’s retirement?” it sounds like an insult. The word retired implies that I am too old to contribute to society. It also implies that I have enough reserves to live for the rest of my life. Neither of these things are true. I am calling what I am doing a sabbatical. I am exploring other career paths. Paths that allow me to use my gifts and to be creative. Paths that allow me to contribute to society, to leave the world a better place. This exploration has taken more time than I expected. I had thought I would get back to work in less than 30 days but the first 30 days were used for reflection. I had to rediscover who I am so that I know how best to serve my community, my family, and myself.
Each day away from the high-alert business of real estate brings me closer to understanding myself. It gets quiet in my house and in my head. At first the quiet was disconcerting. Today I am not so bothered by it. My husband is comfortable by himself, he can spend hours alone, he actually prefers it. He has a focus, a concentration, without distraction, and gets more done than the average person. If he is travelling without the family he can spend days not speaking to anyone and still enjoy each moment. He is self-contained. My daughter who is a combination of both of us, loves the company of others but gets “peopled out” and needs to retreat to solitude. I have always needed to be surrounded by people. Even if I was working on a project that took my full attention, I liked to know that there were other people around me. I am learning that I am good company, alone or with others. I am also learning what I really want to do, and where my abilities can be used to their highest advantage.
Telling stories, stories with a purpose, is one of my best assets. This can be used for training and teaching purposes – parables have traditionally been a great way to help people learn. My twenty-five years as a real estate agent has taught me sales and marketing skills, relationship skills, negotiation skills, and a myriad of other skills that can be distilled and passed along. These skills translate into other businesses beyond real estate. These skills translate to life in general.
The new path is not well lit, I can only see a few feet ahead, but what I see so far is exciting and I am looking forward to taking the next step.
