About These Posts

Each day I add a new journal entry to my social media feeds. Here, I take that day’s entry and expand it through the lens of my Good Life Creed, which you can read about in my book Going Alone (available for free on this website). These dissections aim to connect ordinary reflections with the enduring objectives and principles of the Creed.

Journal Entry (10/30/25)

I completed the onboarding yesterday for my new part-time English teaching job. The process really wore me out, and I’d almost forgotten—after nearly eleven months without work—the familiar feelings of stress and mild anxiety that come from meetings, procedures, and toeing the company line. But honestly, I’d missed that feeling too. In small doses, a bit of structure and bustle in the day feels good—like a light workout at the gym. Healthy, invigorating, and maybe even necessary. Just so long as you don’t stay there all day. That’s where work turns back into a job.

I’ll be starting off gently: one hour a day, Monday through Friday, probably from nine to ten in the morning. No kids this time—I like children, but from a distance now. Adults only, and ideally seniors like me. The best students are those who already speak English well and just want someone to talk with—a friendly conversation partner for half an hour after breakfast. The school says there’s plenty of demand and not enough teachers. So that’ll be my little corner of the trade.

If all goes well, I’ll start soon, once the technical staff finish setting up my account and teacher profile. I’m eager to begin. Just one hour a day, five days a week—enough to stay connected, challenged, and maybe even a little more fit for life in this next act of things.

Dissection

This reflection marks a quiet turning point—the reintroduction of structure into a life that has long since loosened its ties to work. Retirement may have brought peace, but peace alone can grow soft at the edges without a hint of purpose to shape it. A few hours of light labor now become a kind of tonic: measured engagement that strengthens rather than consumes.

#Time (Objective: Make Good and Effective Use of Time and Resources)

Reclaiming the rhythm of a short workday honors the principle of time used well—not through busyness, but through mindful balance. The clock once ruled the day; now it serves it.

#Purpose (Principle of Purpose)

Purpose here is not ambition reborn, but a gentler flame—connection, usefulness, and the satisfaction of small contribution. Teaching becomes less about career and more about communion.

#Scriptwriting (Principle of Scriptwriting)

A new chapter is being written—not by chance, but by deliberate choice. The story of retirement evolves into a narrative of continuity, where identity adapts without surrendering to stillness.

Takeaway

Even in later years, a modest return to structure can rekindle vitality. The aim is no longer achievement, but harmony—to move through the day with rhythm, clarity, and just enough effort to stay fit for the next act.

#RetiringInJapan 🇯🇵 #GoingAlone 🌵 #Time #Purpose #Scriptwriting