ReFirement Life

Rob and I just spent most of the month of August, 2017 in Africa...5 countries (Tanzania, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa), 13 flights, 6 game reserves/parks.   It was a “trip of a lifetime” and I found a great love for the African people.   Around the time that racial craziness was happening in Charlottesville, NC, we visited the Genocide Museum in Rwanda.   Thousands of people were killed by friends and neighbors 23 years ago.   The museum is dedicated to the memory of those killed and the education about how and why genocide starts.   Genocide begins when people start identifying other people only by specific groupings (race, religion, culture, sex, etc.). Those seeking political power identify one group as “Bad” and works to make them a common enemy.   This common enemy creates an allegiance to a political leader.   In the museum they pay homage to other instances of genocide such as Nazi Germany.   A direct quote in ...

After retiring from the financial planning business, I became very aware of an emptiness inside.  I asked myself:  "If I am what I do, then who am I when I don't?"  I succeeded in retiring   from owning a business, but I was not prepared to " retire to"  something. One of the first challenges of ReFirement is to identify what to "retire to". How do I create purpose and meaning in my life if I have been consumed by my profession for 40+ years?  Answering this question started my self-discovery journey. The "7th Inning Stretch" is a time for me to contemplate and begin again to live the life that is true to my values.  I suggest that you begin your own journey by identifying your core values. One of the values that Paula and I have embraced our entire life is "making a contribution to others."  We facilitated a personal growth workshop called the Aspen Temenos   The work was very fulfilling but physically exhausting.  We stopped ...