Moving On
This blog post is my follow-up to the previous post from four months ago, and for those that haven’t yet read that post I encourage you to check it out.
It’s been eight weeks since I retired from full-time employment in an institution of higher education. I spent 43 years working in and serving higher education. I had my first part-time job at age 9 (crazy, eh?), so in effect I had a boss for nearly my entire life. For readers who are in a younger generation, I can guarantee you it’s astonishing to think that many years have gone by.
I’m not one to sit around doing nothing. Sure, I enjoy a few television programs, I read every day, play a few word games online, but I need to keep learning and getting better at something. And for me, that is primarily my music.
Before we get too far into this, let’s put on our board shorts and enjoy this little-known ditty from The Beach Boys:
“And I can do what I want to do.” Indeed!
As I had looked forward to and promised myself to do, I’m using my time to move on. Change, new beginnings, moving on, however you like to refer to it, for me it boils down to the excitement I get when I learn something more about a subject I’m passionate for.
So, what exactly have I been doing? Well, in addition to spending more time with my awesome wife and traveling, I’m practicing drums and other percussion more than I have in over 20 years, and recording drum tracks for songs by other composers. I’m also taking classes and spending time learning more about contemporary/digital music recording, mixing, and mastering. Could I chastise myself for not practicing more during those years, or not learning more about recording sooner than now? Of course I could, but I’m not going to. I made other decisions about my use of time and do not regret a single one of those. Instead, I’m looking at now as “I can have fun on my own terms.”
I have no deadlines, I have no boss other than myself.
So, what’s missing?
Social interaction, that’s what’s missing. Instead of working with dozens of other adults of many generations each day and having a myriad of interactions with them, I interact with others only 1-2 times a week. For the most part, it hasn’t bothered me. But I now need to make a concerted effort to meet up with others more frequently to keep myself whole.
Why am I sharing all this with you, you might ask? Moving on is a process, not a single, solitary step. In addition to learning more about making and performing music, I’m learning more about myself. Each and every one of you will have times when you move on (start a new career, move across the country, and so on) and I’ll encourage you to be aware of as broad a set of factors as possible.
There are numerous quotes from famous people about the process of moving on, and this one, in its simplicity, speaks to me:
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein
Will the real Albert Einstein please stand up?
The next time you move on, pay attention to that balance, as I’m just now learning to do. My first eight weeks in my retirement life were figuring out how to use the pedals and steer. Now I need to pick up speed, feel the wind in my face, and continue smiling. Finding and remaining aware of all that goes into making you who you are will be an important facet of any new beginning, and in doing so you’ll be able to move on with grace, style, and fervor.