By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot, 

You get these moments as a journalist when you see the real heart and soul of people. 
A connection is made, you’re in deep with the questions, fascinated by their knowledge/ experience/ personality and they forget you’re a reporter.
It happened at O’Keefe Grange when I interviewed Bill, Sean and Cathy O’Keefe about their new title – rarest orchard in Canada. I asked each of them to name a favourite apple. For his answer, Sean grabbed an apple and started biting and chewing, tasting, swaying, feeling, thinking and just being totally in the moment enjoying the apple.
It didn’t last more than a minute but I saw the man who knows apples inside and out. He is alive with purpose running the business, tasting the flavours and combining said flavours from heritage apples into unique and sensory ciders.  It was a privilege to watch.
It’s also been a privilege to work these past 10 years as editor of The Rural Voice. We are, in fact,  looking for a new editor but haven’t found one yet. This isn’t my farewell column…but it’s coming. 
This month I want to focus on what it means to retire from a life-long career and how does one find a new sense of purpose? It’s not that the time won’t fill. There is always lots to do — children to raise and support, grandchildren to babysit, a little farm and a small business to run, creative pursuits to explore, volunteerism. But what is the underlying purpose of it all?
This is a question I think about often  because I’m an earnest sort ... I find it hard to just be. So I search and ponder and look for answers. And I have found some. 
Be in the moment: While watching Sean eat his apple, I knew I’ve never eaten an apple with such pleasure and intense focus. Author Eckhart Tolle talks about being in the now. The past is gone and the future isn’t real, no matter how much we obsess about it. The only “real” thing is the moment. Even as my mind wants to stress about a speaking engagement tonight and thoughts flit about like butterflies on crack, all I have to do RIGHT NOW is write this column and really glean some understanding, cohesion and focus. At home, I get to be with my people and animals on a little slice of heaven in Huron County. I don’t want to miss the life I’m living not being where I am. Being  “in the now” is a definite goal and purpose.
Be a Grace Giver: This came after a sermon by Stephen Tamming at Trinity CRC in Goderich. Tamming stood at that pulpit, admitted his own failings and then talked about how he uses them to connect, relate, forgive and accept other people. We weren’t made to judge and shame, he said. We were made to be like Jesus who was about grace, that Christian term that means “undeserved love”. It’s so hard. But Tamming encouraged us all to be “Grace Givers” and I think that’s an amazing “easy-to-remember” life purpose to strive towards.
So those are huge underpinnings of a life’s purpose. But what is my specific purpose? What are my specific gifts to use as I move into my senior years? What are  yours? It isn’t that easy to answer those questions with an alliterative title, is it?  But let’s give it a go.
Listen, Learn, Love: I was visiting friends whom I’ve known for decades now. I think I was being a Chatty Cathy at first, sharing what was on my mind. As the visit lengthened, I started asking questions because hey, that’s what I do. And it got intense. I know when I start leaning forward and my mind clears that “this is it”. This is where I am supposed to be ... mouth shut. 
It all starts with listening. Sometimes I have to tell myself to “shut up” and then it happens…everything disappears except the people and the words coming from them. I think ... is this my purpose? To be quiet so others can share what’s in their heart? I’ve always imagined internal hurts and worries are like pus under a wound. It has to come out! Then healing can begin. 
 Listening to others helps them clarify their thoughts; see themselves more clearly; clearing the ways for new ideas. Listening with a smile and thoughtful questions is encouragement and encourage-ment = “courage” to move forward.
I know so many people who do this naturally. The empaths, God bless them, don’t need a column to figure it out. I’ve got a ways to go. 
“THIS is the life I was blessed with” is a quote I have around my house. Not my neighbour’s life. Not the life of the rich and famous. But THIS life, here in Huron County, surrounded by my family, nature and the rural community. THIS is where I’ve been placed to listen, learn and love.
And along the way, I hope to be so in the now that I can enjoy an apple like Sean O’Keefe! ◊