MY THREE DELIGHTS FROM OCTOBER

As I mentioned at the beginning of January when I chose "Delight" as my Word of the Year, I thought I'd round off each month with three delights.

MY OCTOBER DELIGHTS

As I mentioned at the beginning of January when I chose "Delight" as my Word of the Year, I thought I'd round off each month with three delights. October is school holiday time here in Western Australia - so that means family time for us. It's also Spring, so lots of time outside in the warmth and sunshine - watching nature come bloom.

So, without further ado here are my three delights from October...a family visit delight, a musical delight, and a dabbling delight, with a delightful quote to round it all up....

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DISCOVERING LAGOM - A NEW CONCEPT THAT FITS WELL WITH MY LIFESTYLE

Lagom is the Swedish concept of "Not too little, not too much: just the right amount"

WHAT IS LAGOM?

Lagom is the Swedish concept of "Not too little, not too much: just the right amount" that invites us to embrace a lifestyle based on moderation, sustainability and aiming to achieve balance in our daily life. I think it ties in beautifully with the idea of soft living where we engage in healthy routines, hobbies, and personal interests.

So much of my retired life now centres around finding ways to feel balanced, rested, and unhurried, and I find I've been unintentionally adding Lagom into my choices. Today I'm sharing a few ideas on how that's come about...
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GETTING MY CARE-FACTOR FIGURED OUT

I'm finally figuring out the balance between caring too much and not caring enough. It's about being intentional about my care-factor.

CARING TOO MUCH

I spent the first 50+ years of my life caring about too many unimportant things. I cared about what every person I encountered thought, I cared about whether they were judging me or finding me lacking, I cared about never wanting to fail or look foolish, I cared about being not enough or about being too much. I cared about everyone else's problems and how to solve them, and I cared about every world event that came on the news. I spread my energy everywhere, rather than conserving it for what really mattered.

It's been exhausting trying to keep up with the thoughts in my head - and my inner critic who likes to keep whispering in my ear about all that I should be doing to save the world around me. It often held me back from speaking my thoughts, and it made me second guess myself constantly as I tried to walk a line that wasn't even real. Trying to be who I thought I needed to be, to behave in a way that I thought was 'right', to keep all my ducks in a row - it was all so normal, and all so draining....
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DO WE NEED A MISSION, A PURPOSE, OR A DIRECTION IN RETIREMENT?

HOW DO WE DEFINE OUR SELF-WORTH WHEN WE RETIRE?

SELF-WORTH AND PRODUCTIVITY

A little while ago I read a really thought provoking article by Bernie Sewell on Tiny Buddah. It was about how she finally clicked to the fact that her life mattered - even without a big purpose or direction. I think it resonated so deeply with me because it's how living the retired life can feel at times.

We leave behind a career, most of our parenting, our busy life where we ran from one commitment to another - and we can be left with questions like "who am I?" and "where do I go from here?" It's all a little unsettling until we come to the realization that our worth is intrinsic, and needs to be separated from what we do.
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