Monday, May 2, 2011

The new normal.

I have been very busy considering I am currently "retired".  Not exactly what I expected but then it's all new. 

I did get to see the movie I AM and yes, Tom Shadyac was there. The theater was sold out so the movie was actually delayed to get everyone in. As they said in the theater "Thank you Oprah."  Two more of my friends, Kathy and Cheryl were able to join us.  We had to play a cell phone version of "Marco Polo" to get connected in the crowd but we enjoyed the movie together.   Tom did not have as long to talk as originally was planned. I would have tried to meet him but he announced to the crowd that he was currently single and  as one would expect, he was surrounded quickly.  Besides, I would like to have time to sit down and talk with him.  Maybe, there will be an opportunity in the future. I will keep a good thought.  By the way, Tom was just as charming, funny,and genuine in person as he seemed on film or TV.   I definitely thought the movie was really worth seeing and can't wait for more people to see so more discussion can continue.  It is timely for me as I am looking at what I can contribute to the world in a new role.

I continue to have more sychronistic moments.  I picked up three books by Marc Freedman at the library and found he is speaking in town a week later. So guess who's going to go hear him speak?

Mark has been writing about retirement, mentoring, the Baby Boom Generation, and finding work for the second half of life. Marc's books include: EncorePrime Time and the Kindness Of Strangers. As I was reading, I was struck by how often exhaustion is talked about in his books.   I, too, have found so many people talking about how mentally or physically tired they are. Depleted working parents going home to stressed and exhausted families.

The first thing on the agenda for many of the retirees is rest.   Good plan!! I am astonished at how tired I have been.   (It hasn't helped having grey skies and weather in the 30's in  May.)  The good news is that the folks in the books recovered and went on to find wonderful places to use their gifts.  At least,  I know I have that to look forward to.

One statistic Marc Freedman mentioned was there are 77 million baby boomers. In my first post, I used that number for the number of bloggers I heard there were.   So I checked the Internet and the number of blogs seem to be at more than 120 million.  Wow!!!    So I am part of two huge groups,  bloggers and the Baby Boomers.

I have been trying pay attention to my dreams to keep up with what my busy mind is up to at night.
My most recent dream was detailed, exhausting and funny.  I was going to a play. My friends and family insisted we go to a 10 story playhouse with multiple plays on multiple levels.  I knew when we arrived we were at the wrong building but I was "very gentle" about sharing this information.  After a long time of wandering around, I insisted on asking for assistance over the objections of the others. I was told to call (by pay phone) "Ellen Little" (no idea who this is but she was awesome!!) who confirmed we were in the wrong building, we could still get to the correct theater and the theater folks were likely to let us in even though the play had started.   She then asked me very  pointedly,  "Is there any way you can find to not make it a problem that you are late?" I said "Yes, I think so."  She wanted us to enjoy the rest of the evening.  Thank you, Ellen.  The best part... The name of the play we were heading off to...  "The New Normal." 

So I am still getting clear messages to speak up and enjoy what I have. I feel so grateful, as I continue on my quest to find "My New Normal.   I send you all blessings and hope that you are taking good care of yourselves, you are speaking up and you have a wonderful "Ellen Little" in your dreams, too.

1 comment:

  1. Jan
    As you know, synchronicity is playing a huge role in MY life lately too and I suspect it will continue to do so. I've still not yet seen I Am, the Documentary though I do intend to get myself to a theater soon ... perhaps this weekend. I love that you're 'holding the thought of sitting down to talk with Tom Shadyac sometime' and believe such intentions lead to synchronicity. I hope I'm with you when the two of you finally meet up because I'd love to be a part of THAT conversation.

    I'm unfamiliar with Marc Freedman's work, but am laughing because numerous variations of and references to 'mark' showed up in my writing this morning so methinks I'll be adding him to my 'list' ... staying open to what his work might suggest for my own.

    As for PLAY and 'exhaustion' ... I'm reminded of Brene Brown's book, THE GIFTS OF IMPERFECTION where she addresses both topics (along with many more) as she writes about the kind of Whole-Hearted living which I'm engaged currently in making MY New Normal!!! I've been playfully engaged in a variety of activities AWAY from the computer so I'm even more behind on blogging, email, 'social networking' and the like, but I'm sleeping longer and having loads of fun just doing whatever I choose. I look forward to catching up on Sunday ;-)
    Hugs and blessings,
    Virginia

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