I spent 2 decades moving up the corporate ladder in the healthcare IT industry. My days consisted of 3 hours of commuting then 8-12 hours at a cubicle or moving from meeting to meeting. By the time I got home, I was mentally exhausted. I didn’t have any hobbies or passions. My whole world revolved around my job.
My job revolved around helping to make people healthy but my health was the last thing on my mind. I started to really wonder if this was what life was all about; working and money. There had to be more to life than that. I was struggling with my purpose and how to be truly happy.
I decided to retire and put my efforts to better use for others and in a healthier way for myself. I started to garden full time then I started canning, dehydrating, freeze drying, and curing my garden harvests. With the extra time I gained, I started to learn to cook meals from scratch and bake my own bread with sourdough starter. I became addicted to knowledge about gardening, preserving, cooking, baking, nutrition, and permaculture. I read everything I could get my hands on and did experiments in my garden testing out all the different methods to grow my own food. While on this journey, I started to realize how much better my body felt by eating food I grew myself, exercising in the garden, and getting the proper amount of sleep.
Living this life of self sufficiency while respecting the gifts given to us on this planet has brought me a deeper appreciation of all life. I no longer have this successful job with a big title and I’m grateful for that. I’ve found my purpose and my happiness sitting in my garden. Life is simple now and I think that is how it was always supposed to be for me.
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