Too Much Noise

Topic of the Day- Why we all need a walkabout. Noise-to-signal ratio. 

The vast majority of my professional life was spent working in two of the three largest medical centers in Dallas. 18 years in one hospital and 17 years in the other hospital. That is a lot of years of near constant stress. In many ways the actions of a nurse have life and death implications. The environments do not give you time for reflection. I was in management the majority of my years and that leaves even less time to renew yourself.

Most days when I got home, I was spent which is not a good time to reflect. All-in-all, way too much noise in my life. I don’t like physical noise either. I especially don’t like traffic noise. Retirement has allowed me a chance to actually stop and listen to where I am. There’s so much less physical noise and less life noise. I am allowing myself time to reflect on my life but also to prepare myself for the next fifteen to twenty years. I am especially focused on the next ten years and how I can make these years really productive and very positive.

I will be focusing on writing, creating some videos, being as healthy as I can and foremost, a good grandparent. I am finally at a time in my life where I can control most of the noise around me. I know I can control the bad noise in my life. It is also nice to be able to focus on a few things rather than living in a constant avalanche of situations or tasks that must be managed. Now, I am still in a support role for my wife and my ninety-four-year-old mother. I can still find time for the parts of life I really like, and I can better control the quiet and the noise. It has taken me three years but I'm feeling a sense of peace and calm I don’t ever remember having.