“I’m afraid I’ll soon feel worthless.”
“What?” I was sure I was missing something.
I was meeting with someone who had built a highly accomplished career. He was respected, skilled, and successful. Why would he feel that way?
“In a few months, I’m going to retire,” he explained. “I’ve been thinking a lot about life after retirement. Almost everything in my life has revolved around my career. I’ve invested years and years into it, and now, suddenly, it will be gone.
I think the problem is that I defined myself by my job – and that was a mistake.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond.
After all, isn’t that what many of us do? A job often occupies most of our waking hours. We invest time, energy, ambition, and identity into our work. It becomes almost natural to define ourselves by our careers.
Then I realized.
Perhaps the issue is not that we define ourselves by our “job,” but that we sometimes define ourselves by the wrong one.
Beyond our professional roles, each of us has a deeper, lifelong mission: to bring light into the world. Every relationship, every interaction with another person, is an opportunity to uplift, inspire, or encourage. That mission does not end with retirement. It does not depend on a title, an office, or a paycheck.
It was God’s commandment to Aaron to light the candles of the Menorah in the Holy Temple, and it is His commandment and empowerment to each of us as well.
We each have an inner flame, which we can – and should use to bring divine light to the lives of others as well.
May we recognize our own light and be a light to others.
Mendy Kaminker
(Adapted)