The gift of time

April 30, 2009

I am blessed with a fabulous network of friends and family whom I lean on for support.

A former co-worker and now a pastor of a local community church met me for a Starbucks coffee this afternoon. He had kind words of support and assured me that I hadn’t made a bad decision to take the newspaper buyout.

He raved about reiki and said if I felt like I was stressed to try a reiki practitioner. “It’s like opium,” he said of the healing treatments. I will have to do some research on reiki. It may be worth a few visits.

His other great comment was: “Look at it as if you gave yourself the gift of time. A time to reflect and enjoy.”

Later in the day, I sought the counsel of my father-in-law, who is an Anglican priest. He had some great advice and words of encouragement. He, too, said the decision to leave the newspaper will prove to be a wise one as time ticks on. (He’s an avid newspaper reader. So that comment is somewhat surprising.)

He suggested that I immerse myself in the D’Youville community, which I think is great advice. I will try to get involved with the student newspaper, at his suggestion. That would be fun.

Also great words of wisdom from my father-in-law: “Sure you’ve had a loss of identity and a paycheck,” he said, “but now it’s time to forget the past and set your sights on the future. Going back to school is going to be a lot of fun, and you will excel. Everybody else in the class is going to be more concerned about partying. You will do very well.”

So that’s the lesson of today: Savor these days of free time and to look to the future. Enough of the backward thinking, it can be as toxic as the atmosphere at a dysfunctional workplace.

I am ready for the future and the uncertainty is brings. That, according to my father-in-law, will put the excitement back in my life. “It will make you feel much younger,” he said, “being on a college campus.”

Let it be so. Maybe I'll even sign up for some reiki.