I am so honored to share my new book with MEA alums, faculty, and friends, many of whom are featured in the book. But before I do, a huge shout out to Chip’s new podcast. I have listened to the Michael Franti podcast twice! OMG, Everyone Deserves Music…and to watch or listen here.
My new book, The Inspired Retirement, aims to help readers slow down and discover new purposes and passions as they consider leaving jobs they have held for decades. In it, I share contemplative practices and interviews with those who have flourished and those who have struggled with retirement. I also draw on my expertise in aging and elder law and as a mindfulness meditation teacher.
The Inspired Retirement is research-based. I wrote it while traveling the country talking to people from all walks of life about what brings them happiness and purpose post-career. From cops and waitresses to university presidents, my book uses data to help people chart their own next chapter, to picture, plan and start living an inspired retirement. It also uses scientific studies and data to steer people towards fruitful and purposeful retirement ventures.
Like many mindfulness books and practices, it helps us balance two dichotomies, being present and planning for the future. It works with readers’ interests and passions to playfully balance planning for a bright future while making the most of the here and now.
I wrote it because I know that retirement can be scary. As a busy type-A person myself, I understand the desire to just keep working hard at the things I am good at. But an experience I had a few years ago woke me out of my fast-paced slumber.
I read the bio of a woman who worked in the same narrow field for 56 years. The job sounded fun (travel writing) but the idea of doing the same thing for that long sounded limiting. At the same time, I realized I was doing the same thing in my own life, working in the same field for decades, and not slowing down long enough to find out what else I might want to do.
And so, this book was born. The Inspired Retirement is about creating space to discover what else we might want in our lives, given our unique values, skills, and passions. It also helps us deal with physical and emotional setbacks and navigate the attitude and ego adjustments that aging and pursuing new things can require, for example, what Richard Hyram calls the move from “who’s who” to “who’s he?”
The Inspired Retirement showcases the exceptional works of MEA faculty members Bruce Feiler, Day Schildkret, Alberto Villoldo, Lynne Twist, Arthur Brooks, Michael Clinton, and others, not to mention Chip himself.
It launches on July 15 and can be purchased here. I hope to meet some of you as we travel together through the next amazing and inspiring chapters of our lives.
-Nathalie
Nathalie Martin is a yoga and meditation teacher who has taught at Rancho La Puerta and other resorts and retreat centers. She is also a professor of elder law, among other law subjects. Her recent legal scholarship examines financial models for continuing care retirement communities. See this New York Times article and this one from Newsday. You can also find her websites at The Inspired Retirement and UNM Law and can email her at [email protected].