Owe My Soul to the Company Store?

In my growing up years at home, the record which was most played was Tennessee Earnie Ford’s, Sixteen Tons. The phrase I related to was “you load sixteen tons and what do you get, another day older and deeper in debt. I owe my soul to the company store.” I loved that song even though it is a sad concept to owe your soul to the ‘company store’. Perhaps that phrase had some influence on me and my sense of independence. I have always wanted to be free to leave a place where I wasn’t wanted or where I did not want to be. I wanted to be free to follow my dreams and where I believed God was leading. I did not want to be so dependent that I felt trapped by an organization, business, group, church, etc. I recognize there can be too much independence which can lead to narcissism. I desire to have a healthy balance of dependency, commitment, loyalty, etc. as well as independence. I want my soul to be free as I believe God created our souls to be free.

That "Retirement" Question

In two months, I will have reached my 84th birthday. It is not surprising that many folks ask me about my possible retirement. I have no plans to retire, nor do I have any plans for retirement. I would like to continue being a psychotherapist and spiritual director as God continues to grant me sufficient physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. I may want to decrease my days and hours but that’s not the same as retiring. I recently read the following quote from Yalom’s book, BECOMING MYSELF. His quote says well what I am hoping for in my not-retiring work/ministry. “…we humans, all of us, crave a wise, all-knowing, white haired elder. If I’ve been chosen to fit that slot, well, I happily accept the position. Someone has to do it. “(page 333, kindle).