I enjoy everything about being retired. What I enjoy most is the time and freedom to pursue my passion projects without the time and energy limitations from a job. Now, my only limitations stem from pandemic restrictions, a husband recovering from lung cancer, and family obligations. Other than these, I have been free to discover what I care about and how I want to spend the bulk of my time and energy moving forward.
I intentionally gave myself a full year of retirement to allow my passions to organically rise to the surface. I tried new things like calligraphy and graphic design and social media. And what I discovered is that I’m the same person I was at age 12. I crave order. I crave safety. I crave justice. And I crave beauty. My passion for creating spaces that are safe, orderly, just, and beautiful extends beyond my home and garden; it extends to society. So, as I watched our country descend into a place that I no longer recognize nor admire, I created the Better Human Project consisting of nine principles which I laid out in 11 separate blog posts over this past year (weekly posts beginning October 17, 2021, through December 26, 2021).
I had initially agreed that the Better Human Project would fall under the Inclusion Media Group, a non-profit that my daughter created. However, after deep consideration, my daughter and I decided that its rightful home is under my Fully Present Post 50 sole proprietorship because my purpose isn’t really to push the media to be more inclusive; it is to encourage everyday people to become better humans. I have to thank my brilliant daughter and her other degree in marketing for giving me clarity and then helping me forge a pathway towards inviting others to commit to being better humans and then helping to spread the movement.
Starting August 1st, I will be launching a website and a monthly newsletter for the Fully Present Better Human Project. I will not only feature the nine principles and practical guidelines for fulfilling them, but I will be offering Better Human promotional products to allow like-minded supporters to help spread the notion of what it means to become better humans. There will be mugs, notecards, prints, posters, water bottles, mouse pads, reusable bags and t-shirts for purchase to help spread the message and to financially sustain the efforts. In brief, here are the nine Better Human principles:
Better Humans practice brotherly love, protect the environment, demand social justice, challenge bigotry, are lifelong learners, are inclusive, help the needy, speak the truth, and vote for better humans.
I firmly believe that together we can create a safer, more just, and livable society for ourselves and our families and so I’m dedicating my retirement to helping to make that happen.