Lately I’ve had the opportunity to speak with some of my peers who have asked me about my writing life. Then inevitably, the discussion turns to finding purpose in life after retirement.

If you are a baby boomer like me, following what was expected of us was the norm. You know how it goes – get the degree(s), find a job/career, buy a house, have the children. Then BOOM before you know it the empty nest hits and retirement nears leaving us to wonder, now what? We are too active to sit home and age, as previous generations did after retirement. But, many of us haven’t a clue as to what to do next. We’ve never really taken time out for ourselves to explore who we are at heart and creatively.

Personal fulfillment means something different to each one of us. It’s quite profound when you find your passion, as I did with writing, without struggling to find it and it comes in the natural order of life’s events.

Another case in point. I have a friend who is retired, and in her travels to Hawaii she became interested in learning to play the ukulele. So she and a few friends took lessons. They formed a musical group and just had their first concert at a community church in Vermont. Some of the proceeds from the concert will go to support the church’s breakfast outreach program. Way to go ladies!

Peak your interest? Here in our area, Manor Mill Gallery in Monkton is holding ukulele beginner’s classes in May!

If a curiosity about something comes to you, my advice is to stay open to it. It may be a latent interest you’ve always had but were never aware of it. Set out on a creative quest, see where your interest leads rather than trying to orchestrate life to go the way you think it should. Self-discovery is fascinating.

Next time on All Things Fulfilling, I will tell you about a gentlemen who in his retirement has taken an interest he had in his childhood and has now found even a greater level of personal fulfillment in it. Come on back. We are always posting new content.