A few months ago I wrote about starting a new journal that
only has 70 lined pages, much shorter than my other journals. (Click here to read
full post.) I made the point that the journal can serve as a short story. My
goal was to pack a lot of living into a few pages.
When I was down to the last 12 pages (front and back) I
noted in my journal entry: "I don't have a lot of time remaining to add to my
short story. Is there something I can do that will propel my story forward? Is
there a sudden change in the plot?"
Isn't that how a good book reads? You're going along
thinking that you know how everything is going to turn out, and then bam!
You're thrown a curve ball. You didn't see it coming. And it changes everything.
For the next couple weeks I lived with the intention of
changing up the plot. I said "yes" to more opportunities. I slept naked on more
nights. I reserved a lakefront campsite and cooked a delicious shrimp dinner
over the fire. I zoomed down the longest and highest zipline in North American.
I initiated courageous conversations. I delighted in being in the moment. I let
it be known, this is who I am and this is what I've come for.
A couple weeks later I savored the experience of writing my
final entry in the short journal. I met my goal—I had packed a lot of living
into a few pages. By being intentional, by changing up the plot, I put forth
the extra effort to write an interesting story—one that is too good to put down
and keeps getting better.
Retirement is the perfect time to pack a lot of living into
a short story—a new story that gets more interesting when you change up the
plot.
