Is it a quiet life, or a dull life? Maybe both. And that is fine. While in Chicago I talked with several people who are still doing the work that I used to do. To say they are stressed is an understatement. And looking back, the cause of the stress changed from time to time, with the perceived threats being stronger at some times, but there was always pressure to find funding, and deliver results. I feel for them, and I am so glad I am no longer a part of that.
I can start a painting whenever I want, and work on it when I feel like it. When it is finished it does not matter if it is good or not, as one comment put it this past week, "it is a good thing I am not reliant on this to make a living." Oh so true, if anyone wants to buy my paintings I will gladly part with them, but I have never had a buyer. And I really don't care. I do them for the pleasure of doing them.
I travel, because I like to and I can. But travel is no longer tied to making a living. I have done over a 100 trips as a paid speaker or trainer, this brings with it a special stress. Like the time I arrived in Alabama for dinner with the state attorney general, and my bag missed the connection in Atlanta. It was August in the south, I had dressed to be cool and comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt for the flight, and that is what I wore to a nice formal dinner that someone was paying me to be at. Today I fly in for my pleasure. Even the volunteer association duties are not tied to earning a living. It changes the dynamic.
Life is much quieter, maybe even a little dull at times, and that is a good thing. Try it.
Most of us now live long enough to truly enjoy our retirement. Previous generations dropped dead from exhaustion soon after they finished work.
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