Julie Harris Watts
Finding Meaning in the Ordinary
About Me
I’m Julie, and I'm trying to figure out how to live a life with as much meaning as possible. I haven't got it sorted yet. It's still work in progress.
For over twenty years, I worked as an occupational therapist, supporting older people in the community and the UK prison service. I'm now retired and, although I don't have a proper job anymore, I'm not sure that I've stopped working. In some ways I seem busier than ever!
My Story
Life hasn't always been plain sailing. Being human, I had my fair share of struggles both at work and in my personal life. In my mid fifties, things reached a breaking point. It felt like a train crash and I wasn't the driver. Events seemed to have taken on a life of their own.
Then one morning I heard an inner voice urging me to change direction. Now I'm not the kind of person who usually hears voices or expects Divine guidance so this came as a bit of a surprise. But the voice was unmistakably clear It told me what I needed to do.
Yikes!
Taking early retirement on a limited pension was a leap of faith. It wasn't the most obvious choice but I took the plunge. And I'm so glad I did. Being without paid employment gave me much-needed space to recuperate, rethink my life and work out what mattered to me. I wanted to live more authentically and find a better balance. Perhaps I also needed to get better at listening to that inner voice. After all, it had done me a massive favour.
Off-Piste Occupational Therapy
Retirement gave me the chance to revisit some of the ideas at the heart of occupational therapy, beyond the constraints of the medical and justice systems in which I'd spent much of my professional life. I saw anew how transformative its underlying philosophy could be. I began looking at it through a different lens, exploring ideas that hadn't had much room to breathe when I was working.
I still care deeply about doing the right thing, but now I'm free to explore an eclectic mix of ideas without having to fit them into a professional framework. Some of these are rather woo-woo. “Hippy shit,” my partner calls it! I tend to disagree.
For I believe that meaningful activity is the bedrock of what makes life worth living. I'm interested in the idea, gleaned from occupational therapy, that spirituality isn't separate from everyday life. Meaning can be found in the things we do, the people we connect with and the way we go about our lives. For some people, this may involve going to a church, temple or mosque. But from this perspective, you don't have to follow a faith to be spiritual.
What this looks like will be highly individual, shaped by a person's beliefs, preferences and circumstances. There's no question of a one-size-fits-all approach here. I'm curious to see where exploring these ideas beyond the boundaries of my old profession might lead. And that's okay. I'm not registered to practise anymore!
Spirituality for Everyday Life
The good news is that you don't need an expensive retreat, hours of spare time, perfect health or an idyllic home in the country to explore spirituality. You can start by tweaking the life you already have.
For me, that involves acknowledging what works and experimenting with new things. Sometimes these make the grade and become part of my routine. Other things I try really don't suit me at all. That's perfectly okay. At least I've given them a go.
What works for me may not suit you. However, by sharing what I've been up to, I hope to inspire you to come up with ideas of your own.
What You'll Find Here
Each week, I'll explore a question, often something I've been pondering myself. I'll share what prompted it, what I've discovered along the way, and any resources or practices that might be worth investigating.
Alongside these shorter weekly questions, I'll also write longer pieces from time to time when I want to delve deeper into a subject or have found something exciting to share.
These articles are likely to be a right hotchpotch. I'm a complete magpie when it comes to collecting information and ideas. However, I hope these pieces of randomness will give you extra food for thought and perhaps inspire you to try something new. You won't find me claiming to have all the answers or telling you how you ought to live. But you may find me begging you to try a super-tasty recipe I've shared!
Life By The Sea
I live with my partner, Paul, my grown-up son and his girlfriend, a stone's throw from the sea in South Devon. My parents joined us here a couple of years ago, moving from my childhood home in Essex to a little bungalow just a five-minute walk away. Sadly, Dad passed away not long after they arrived, so we've been giving Mum a little extra TLC. Happily she is thriving in her new home.
Retirement life includes writing, growing vegetables on our allotment plots, renovating our home, caring for mum and volunteering for Locate International, a charity that investigates cold cases to help locate missing people and identify the unidentified. Oddly, I have a bit of a thing for litter picking too. It's like a treasure hunt with trash!
In amongst all that unpaid work, I do find a bit of time for leisure. I love swimming in the sea, cycling, heading out on our little boat, making mosaics and seeing live music. We also enjoy escaping to France, Northern Spain and Cornwall in Klaus the Knaus, our ageing motorhome.
Practices such as meditation, prayer, studying inspirational texts and keeping a gratitude journal have become an important part of my daily life. I'm open to many ideas, but I describe myself as a student of a big book called A Course in Miracles, so that gets a little extra attention. I'll tell you more about it as the website unfolds.
And the socks.....
Oh, and for a long time, I didn’t wear socks. The relevance of this will unfold in due course.