The rooster’s crow alerted me again that it was morning. Time to get up and get to it. The sky is a murky mix of dark blue and gray as the sun struggles to break the horizon. I open my eyes and realize today is the last day with my family here in Florida. I fly out this evening, back to Rochester, NY.
There is a lot to reflect on over the last week. Far more than I will fit into a single article. As my fingers fly across the keyboard this quiet morning, I can only think about how wonderful it has been to see family I haven’t seen in over 2 years. The last time I was here was May 2023.
Time is a funny thing. We all get 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The minutes and seconds tick by at the same rate for everyone (I’ll spare you the physics lesson on the reality of time, lol). Yet, we move through time faster or slower depending on what we’re focused on. For me, 2 years doesn’t seem like that much time in the grand scheme of things, yet it feels like an eternity since I’ve last been here.
So much has happened in the time in between. Last time I was here, I didn’t have any hip issues and I had my job at Constellation Brands. Now, I have arthritis in my hip, I’ve had hernia surgery, and I am unemployed. A lot can happen in a short span of time. And it’s not just me—I’ve seen it in my folks too.
The best way to regain perspective is to change the scenery. I realize that things have changed for my folks down here as much as they have for me back in New York. However, being here has allowed me to gain a different perspective on a number of things, including time.
Getting older is inevitable. Like Ecclesiastes says, there’s a season for everything—but that doesn’t mean we sit idle. God wired us for purpose, even in the trials. There are things I can do to slow the pace a bit. I can eat healthier. I can exercise more—start taking those walks I keep talking about or doing some home workouts. And so I don’t neglect my brain, I can make sure I am reading every day and doing something mentally challenging to keep the synapses firing.
Finally, I can find work that has purpose. If being unemployed has taught me anything, it is how much my previous job was sucking the soul out of me. I loved the people I worked with, but the work itself and the personal return on investment had gone south a while ago. At some point, I was just going through the motions for the paycheck.
Now I am in a prime spot to reinvent myself. To find a new path that will be both financially and personally satisfying. I am dabbling with a few ideas: consulting, writing, AI, teaching. I am in an exploratory phase right now, trying to figure out what I want to do next. This is a thrilling yet scary place to be. At some point, I need to pay the bills, so the process cannot take forever.
It seems to me that this reflection is something that often happens when big events—like a layoff or health scare—happen. The question is, why should this kind of reflection wait? It is more important than ever to make time to reflect more frequently and ask, Am I doing what I should be doing, what I want to be doing? It’s about time we make sure we are making time for self-reflection NOW, not only when major events trigger it.
Here is my challenge to you: block off 30-60 minutes this week. Find a quiet place to think, with a medium of your choice—pen and paper, laptop, tablet, or phone. Silence any notifications on any devices you have present. Then, just reflect on the current state of your life. Where you are, where you want to be, and most importantly… is what you are doing now getting you where you want to be? And while you’re at it, ask: Where’s God inviting me in this season? What step of faith is He nudging me toward?
Capture this reflection, then let me know how it went. I would love to hear what you came up with.
—Daniel