Finding Presence in Simplicity
While I am not retired yet, I am all about finding presence. So much so that I am now blocking my calendar on Friday and no one except me can put anything on it; this requires total intentionality! So no matter where we are in the career cycle we can move towards owning our calendars. - Leslie
Retirement is often marketed as a finish line—a place where you “finally get to relax.” But for those living it, retirement is far more complex. It's not just the end of a career. It's the beginning of a new chapter; one that asks us to rewrite what purpose, identity, and meaning look like, often without the titles or timelines that once gave us structure.
And that can feel disorienting… unless you embrace one essential truth: presence is power.
In this stage of life, the boldest thing you can do isn’t filling your calendar—it’s simplifying it. Not proving your worth—but being fully present in it.
The Myth of the Busy Retiree
Many retirees fall into the trap of replacing career hustle with activity hustle. Endless volunteering, constant travel, over-scheduling—fueled by a fear that rest equals irrelevance.
But your worth is not measured by how full your days are. In fact, the real gift of retirement may be the opportunity to slow down enough to truly live your life—not just fill it.
Presence isn’t passive. It’s deeply intentional. It’s the choice to savor rather than rush. To pay attention rather than distract. To be fully alive in the simplest of moments.
What Simplicity Can Teach Us
Simplicity isn’t about having less—it’s about needing less to feel full. It’s the quiet confidence of knowing who you are without needing to prove it to anyone. It’s the freedom to focus on what matters most.
Retirement offers a unique invitation to return to simplicity. When embraced, it can lead to profound peace and joy. Here’s what that might look like:
Enjoying rituals instead of routines - slow mornings with coffee, walking the same trail with intention
Being available for spontaneous moments with loved ones
Spending more time creating than consuming - writing, painting, gardening, storytelling
Listening more - to your body, your inner wisdom, the natural world
These aren’t small things. These are the things that fill a life with meaning.
Still, But Mighty
You don’t need a loud life to live a significant one.
This phase of life isn’t about fading away >>'
it’s about radiating from within. You’ve spent decades building, leading, supporting, and striving. Now, you get to live courageously in a different way: by being still enough to feel your aliveness fully.
Think of stillness as a new kind of leadership—the leadership of self. The ability to be deeply present, wise with your energy, selective with your attention, and anchored in gratitude. That’s not a lesser form of power. That’s the essence of power.
And it ripples. When others see you at peace, they learn it’s safe to slow down too.
What Presence Looks Like Now
Try this reflective exercise:
Each morning, ask yourself:
What’s one small joy I want to notice today?
Where can I give my full attention without multitasking?
Who needs my quiet presence—not my advice, not my doing, just me?
When you are present in your life You are rising >> into a new kind of mighty.