A Rose by Any Other Name

What is a retirement walkabout? The original working title was "Retirement Walk," which was fairly straightforward as the book is written for people in or considering retirement, and deals with the faith walk that each of us experiences in our daily life.

We all want to finish well, but few books talk about what that means, how to do it, or what hurdles will be experienced along the way. Retirement Walkabout will take my time honored habit of over-thinking things and put it to good use, or so I hope.

About the same time that I began thinking about writing "Retirement Walk," I also came to appreciate the importance that mentors have in the lives of successful people. We Americans like to view success as completely the result of individual achievement, but in reality a study of accomplished individuals in many walks of life showed that success often involves support from mentors who came alongside to give insight and encouragement early on in the careers of successful people. In the Bible, we know that Jesus mentored His disciples, who were in turn encouraged to go out and mentor others. I looked back and realized (a bit too late, I must admit) that my early successes were partly a result of the mentors I had in High School, and a lack of career mentors has almost certainly limited my success in other endeavors.

But I have never heard anyone look for a mentor in retirement. By then, we're supposed to know everything. Right? But, the secret's out. We don't know everything, even when it comes time to move into retirement. We could still stand to learn from others. And so began my quest for retirement mentors to help me write this book.

Last week one of my new mentors taught me that my picture of a retirement "plan" was flawed. Plans are static, but in the real world things change in wholly unpredictable ways. Retirement can last 20, 30, even 40 years. How many of us can predict our circumstances three decades down the road? A "walk" implies a journey from Point A to Point B. What we need, instead, are a series of habits that prepare us for a meandering journey through time experiencing the world God gives us, moment by moment. As my new mentor told me, "it's good to have a plan, but always bring your eraser."

So I changed the title to "Retirement Walkabout." We're on a journey, but we're not following a specific path. We should plan to experience each day the joys and experiences that our loving God has prepared for us - and prepared us for.

If you are reading this, then you are on this journey with me. Thank you for sharing with me what you've learned so that I can share it with others. Surely, one of the opportunities of retirement is having time to mentor others. Lord, please give me ears to hear and understand the lessons that You have in store for me to learn and share with others. Amen.