I AM NOT RETIRED

I am not going gentle into that good night. I will not spend my days on the recliner sofa eating bon-bons until Death comes to call.

I AM… REALLY TIRED

Of failing to be the person others said I’m supposed to be instead of embracing the person I am
Of leading a life chasing status and shitting on myself for not being enough
Of buying into society’s expectations for high achievers
Of doing the work I am good at instead of work that brings me joy.

I WANT MY SOUL TO REFIRE

To be open to new paths and fresh self-expression
To have new energy in my feet as I move forward
To collaborate joyfully with people who share my values
To be in service to something greater than myself.

SO MY THINKING HAS TO REWIRE

My old thinking scolded, You’ve left things unfinished. You could have, should have done more to build your business. You’re a nobody if you’re not a practicing attorney. WHO CARES? My energy and passion for it was finished. I can only grow by coming to the end of something and by beginning something else. I must let go of the life I had planned to accept the life that is waiting for me. As Andre Gide said, I won’t discover new lands if I don’t consent to lose sight of the shore. And if not now, when?

BECAUSE MY HEART HAS A NEW DESIRE

God said, Go forth from where you started. Move on from your roots and all the expectations that shaped the person you are right now. When you do, you will be blessed. Your name will be great for you will be a blessing to others. So that’s the plan. I don’t know where I’m being led or how long the journey will take, but that’s okay. I am never too old to set a new goal or dream a new dream.

THIS TRANSFORMATION DOES REQUIRE THAT I

Reclaim my spirit of adventure
Revive my childlike sense of wonder
Release the habits, thinking, and assumptions that no longer serve me
Explore the possibilities.

EXPLORE

DREAM

DISCOVER

Who Said it First?

Do not go gentle into that good night. (Dylan Thomas)

Everyone fails at who they’re supposed to be. The measure of a person, of a hero, is how well they succeed at being who they are. (Renee Russo as Queen Frigga in The Avengers (film))

Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and site at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy. (Kahlil Gibran)

You only grow by coming to the end of something and by beginning something else. (John Irving)

We must let go of the life we had planned so as to accept the life that is waiting for us. (Joseph Campbell)

One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore. (Andre Gide)

God said, Go forth from your native land, your birthplace, your fathers house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great; you shall be a blessing. (Genesis 12:1-2)

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. (Mark Twain)

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. (C.S. Lewis)

If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when? (Rabbi Hillel the Elder)