This week I am preparing for my Camino Walk in October by contemplating my dream job. I hope to retire within the next few years and this will be important as I may not have a “full-time job”, but I will still have 24 hours in each day that need to be spent wisely. 

I looked over my list of 20 Favorite Things To Do to narrow down the activities that bring me joy.

My dream job would contain the following elements:

1.     Creativity- I enjoy writing and photography. I have authored a blog since September 2010 and usually write a short article each week. My website topic is: “On our relationship with God, and the relationships that flow from our first love.” I sprinkle in some photographs, usually of places I visit, the zoo, or flowers.

2.     Contemplation/Prayer- I enjoy contemplative retreats, particularly at The Society of St. John the Evangelist, an Episcopal Monastery in Cambridge, MA and the peacefulness of the Chapel at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Nashville. I am a member of the Healing Prayer Lay Ministry at St. George’s and find both public and private prayer to be a calming influence in my life. I’m looking forward to my Camino Walk as a time of contemplation and prayer.

3.     Travel- I’ve been lucky to travel with best friends and family that includes Mission trips and Pilgrimages with my church. I’ve found that you really get to know people when you travel with them for 10 days! I also enjoy visiting my sister and brother-in-law in Mexico and traveling to Antigua, Guatemala for the beautiful country and to learn the language.

4.     Learning/Sharing/Caring- I enjoy learning new things and sharing them with others, especially when I learn new things about God and God’s kingdom here on earth. I’m a docent at the Frist Art Museum in Nashville and I find that artists challenge us to see our world through a different lens. I also am planning to get another dog for which I will be the sole care provider. I have been learning Spanish for 20 years and know that I will never be finished!

5.     Outdoors- I love being outdoors whether playing golf, hiking, or walking. I enjoy sitting in my backyard watching beautiful sunsets year-round.

I don’t know as one “job” would have all these characteristics or at least not all the time, but these thoughts are starting to coalesce:
1.     A new puppy will help me with my joy in being a caregiver and get me outdoors.
2.     I may try to coordinate annual retreats with friends/pilgrims to places I enjoy: The Society of St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge, MA, and Antigua, Guatemala. I suspect that Santiago, Spain may also become a favorite. There will be a new Anglican Centre in Santiago, an ideal place to take weary pilgrims. Antigua and Santiago will help me in my desire to travel, learn more Spanish, as well as provide a place of contemplation and prayer.
3.     I’d like to write another book, perhaps on my Camino experience or a novel based upon St. John’s Gospel. I’d like to use my blog for stories and photographs as well as posting prayers from prayer books. My posted prayer: “Healing Prayer for those Suffering from Addiction”, is the page that is most downloaded from my blog.
4.     I want to volunteer for more tours at the Frist Art Museum where I learn about new exhibitions every 3-4 months and where it is exciting to see young people enjoy and make art in ArtQuest.

Thinking about my dream job has let me have the freedom to explore new frontiers, enhance old ones and to determine those activities in life that aren’t really that important.

What does your dream job look like?

Blessings, my friend
Agatha