- A. Moving Out
- B. Leaving My Job
- C. New Lifestyle Transition
- D. Holy Week
- E. New Adventures
- F. Itinerary
- G. High School Reunion
- H. Visiting Loved Ones, Family, and Meeting New Friends
- I. Stella Maris OCDS Group
- J. Spirituality of Care
- K. My New Home State and Climate
- L. The Digital Nomad
In 2018, I expressed my intent to leave my job in 2020, but the pandemic and a whirlwind of family events delayed it. I reset the year to 2022 and was determined to keep that time frame. My job of 16 years in the healthcare system could be done by anyone who is very highly trained and well-experienced. It took them much time and they had to hire multiple people to even approach backfilling what I did. It was a stagnant career for me in spite of groundbreaking contributions, and I carefully considered my decisions. A number of my colleagues feel the same way. I made many good friends, but those are byproducts of the career that are not prime bases for the career.
My creative pursuits in music composition, photographic arts, writing, and spiritual direction are unique to me and are my legacy to humanity. Dad died in 2020, and he was only 25 years my senior. That made me realize that time is too short to not be pursuing what we are called to do in this world. My foremost criterion then for any pursuit is if it is something within my unique talents. I can do many things and have gone through many jobs, but if it is not unique to me, I can leave it to someone else to do.
Life is just too short to be many things to many people. I would rather be a few things to a few or many people, and the ultimate service is to humanity at large or the Kingdom of God. I tell my students that the student needs to strive to be better than the teacher. This is not out of pride, but this is the only way society can progress, rather than digress, through the generations. Unfortunately, many things like thinking and handwriting have degraded over the generations. It is the current generation’s legacy to turn the tide.