Description

Welcome to episode 43 of your Encore Life.  Today the title of the podcast is "What's Next".  This will be a brief episode about some things that I have observed and heard others asking, including myself.

When we began 2020 many of us may have had a fairly clear sense of what was next for us and where we might be headed.  Some of you may have been able to realize those things, but I know many who have not because of circumstances that were out of their control.  One thing I am certain of is that none of us could have foreseen 2020 for what it has been.  COVID 19 has limited our access to people, to events, to travel, to school, to church, and the list goes on.  The political climate and the unrest in our nation has generated fear, and there is nothing more powerful to divide people than fear. All of this can leave us feeling powerless, not having control over our own circumstances.  For many in the listening audience of this podcast who are at or near retirement and wondering what's next, you could be feeling like you have past the point in your life where you can accomplish what you want, that you are too old to make a difference.

Let's go back to what I talked about in very early episodes of this podcast.  The idea of E + R = O.  Remember that stands for events + our response to the events = outcome.  We have not had control over much of what we have been presented with in 2020, but remember that we always have control over how we respond, and how we respond will most definitely have some measure of influence over the outcome.

Let's start with the sense that you have past the point in your life where you can accomplish what you want or it is too late to start something new.  Author and Podcaster Dan Miller from the 48 Days fame recently wrote about that and talked about a website you could go to where you type in your age and get a list of people's accomplishments that occurred later in life.  I have included a link to the Museum of Conceptual Art in the show notes where you can do this.  He included some of the following examples:

• At age 99, Teiichi Igarashi climbed Mt. Fuji.
• At age 90, Chagall became the first living artist to be exhibited at the Louvre museum.
• At age 83, Great grandmother Joyce Patrick learned to read and write.
• At age 70, Benjamin Franklin helped draft the Declaration of Independence.
• At age 62, J.R.R. Tolkien published the first volume of his fantasy series, Lord of the Rings.
• At age 50, William Piper, who built the Piper Cub airplane, learned to fly and never considered building his own plane until much later.
• At age 46, Golfer Jack Nicklaus became the oldest man ever to win the Masters.

When I typed my age of 60 in I got the following examples:

• Playwright and essayist George Bernard Shaw completed a play, "Heartbreak House," regarded by some as his masterpiece.
• Italian sculptor, painter, playwright, draftsman and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini began designing churches.
• Ann Roberts retired from 30 years of driving an 18-wheeler, changed jobs to tax preparer and also sales rep for a tractor/bush hog company. She square dances evenings and weekends. She is a grandmother of 4 and is still working.
• Frieda Birnbaum became the oldest woman in the U.S. to give birth to twins.

If you are listening to this podcast or reading this blog on my web page, then God is not finished with you yet.  Continue to dream and take steps, however small, to realize your dream, to add value to others and leave a positive legacy to your life.

I have also been thinking a lot about the greatest commandment and how I can honor that commandment, which I know I fall far short on.  It is Matthew 22: 37-40:  37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[c] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[d] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

What can that look like for us and how can we start moving toward following that commandment?  I have enjoyed listening to a podcast by Emily P. Freeman recently titled: "The Next Right Thing".  It is a beautifully done podcast and I have included a link to it in the show notes.  We may have difficulty seeing the big picture of what we will do and where we will go during this difficult time, but just ask yourself "What is my next right thing"? If you ask yourself that question consistently and follow through, your small next right things will become your path to where you need to be.  Could your next right thing include things like:

• Calling or visiting someone you have been thinking about lately
• Writing a letter to someone you know is lonely
• Taking a walk around the block, or to the end of the driveway to begin the process of getting healthier
• Spending more time reading the Bible
• Starting a morning routine of devotion and quiet time

And as you thing about what your next right this is, do as Emily P. Freeman states at the end of each podcast, "Do Your Next Right Thing in Love".

• Contact Craig
• Museum of Conceptual Art - What people my age have accomplished?
• The Next Right Thing - Emily P. Freeman
• 48 Days: Dan Miller
• The Greatest Commandment - Bible Gateway