The Gift of Unretirement
What if I had retired, secure, and prosperous?
I am thankful for my blessings, and this is one of them.
Had I stuck to my original career path, I could have retired secure and, in a measure, prosperous at age 50.
In all likelihood, however, I must admit that I probably would not have chosen to retire then, even if I had kept that career on track. I would have risked being "a one string guitar."
Now, those 27 years later, I have chosen to look back with what I hope will be the 20/20 hindsight that many before me have been given, in order to seek to understand why I did not continue on that original path, while weighing the benefits of what I did choose to do.
At the time I veered off that path I was content to start a new career, even though advancement seemed assured had I stayed.
I started two newspapers as owner/editor. Good experience for a writing/editing career as a freelancer.
I headed a syndicate for freelance writers, photographers, cartoonists. Good contacts with a wide variety of folks in those professions.
I wrote a book that two authors stole and found out that a friend who owned a large law firm didn't see his promise through to conclusion.
I learned about life insurance and financial planning, co-owned a restaurant with my wife where we taught our children to choose between hard work under someone else, or learning to do something they were interested in well enough to be their own bosses.
I learned the joys of gardening and planting fruit and nut trees for future harvests, and turned to writing elsewhere and here on HubPages.
Would I have made more money, found more security, and still have enjoyed what I once enjoyed? Yes.
Would I have missed out on all the rest? Yes.
Did I make the right decision then, and others thereafter? One day I will ask my Heavenly Father whether or not He thinks the answer to that question has any eternal significance.
For now I am where I am, doing what I am doing....until something else excites my interest, or circumstances force me to go in a particular direction leading elsewhere.
One thing I have noticed concerning writing about what interests me: I can choose any topic, of any length, write at any hour, stop when I want, resume when I please, speak to and exchange texts with other kindred spirits, receive comments on my work, and please a few other people, all while being productive enough to fend off charges of being "lazy"....although "indolent," its sister word, would surely apply at times, except for covering that accusation by maintaining that "I am thinking about what to write next.")
Will I ever find the same security and potential prosperity I abandoned for all this? Only time will tell, but aren't there more important things in life?
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Copyright 2012 Demas W. Jasper All rights reserved.