Transitions
“Change is the only constant in life.”
This morning I woke and went right outside, as is my morning routine. I journal, meditate and just think in the quiet hours before the cacophony of life drowns out my ability to hear and focus. Today, I noticed how seemingly fast the colors of the trees had changed and I mourned the leaves that had already given up and decided it was time to drop from their perches. As they swirled around my feet, I wondered how the warmth and energy of summer had passed without my permission once again and changed into something I never seem prepared for, yet happens anyway.
The cycles of the seasons have been transitioning since day one, yet there is still a human cycle of anticipation or mourning that we attach to them. Perhaps it is because we know that change is inevitable and we have no control over it – and it is that knowing which scares us mortals the most.
My morning observation of the changing of seasons seemed particularly poignant as Nature, once again, is the mirror for all of life’s cycles. This past week I’ve had conversations with so many people in transition; some with a diagnosis they dreaded hearing, some feeling the loss of having their children spread across the country and several who find themselves newly single after many years of marriage. The one thread in all of these conversations was the human questioning of home.
I’ve come to understand that the concept of home is so symbiotically connected to the cycle of transition, whether we realize it or not. Think about it, every transition that happens in life – birth or death, expansion or shrinking of family, marriage or divorce, wealth or poverty, growing or aging, even health or disability – all impact the physical and conceptual idea of what home is. We humans are wired to have a sense of home and build nests to support our current needs and desires. But the inevitability of change comes along, whether of our own doing or not, and we see that we have 2 options.
Option one is to stay so rigidly in denial of change that we spend our precious life energy trying to keep things looking the same. We hold on so tightly to what we have already known that we actually walk through life reliving the past instead of transitioning into the present. That is as futile as asking the leaves to stay green forever.
Option two is a bit harder for us predictability loving humans, but ultimately, it’s the only choice we have. And that is to give in to the inevitability of change and be open and trusting to the transitions that must be made. I’ve learned (the hard way) that cultivating a mindset of surrender, with little resistance, is what allows us to see the beauty in moving forward. Courageously taking new steps with an open mind and heart is much less painful than holding on to a past which no longer exists. And yes, there is great mourning that comes with saying goodbye to the known lives we have built and incredible trepidation about moving into the unknown. I know first hand, because this is the place where most people reach out for my help in adjusting to their new realities. It is in this space that discoveries and opportunities can always be found as the ideas about home are adjusted or redefined.
The seasons transition for a reason that might not be apparent in the barrenness of winter or the droughts of summer. There is wisdom in Nature, for it knows that everything is impermanence and doesn’t try to halt what comes next. It slowly reveals that there is always a reason for transition. In the meantime, it makes beauty of the changing leaf, wonder in the snowflake and life-giving sustenance from the rain. If we can adopt that philosophy and fluidity in our mindset then we will find that home is where we are right now, and embracing our ever-changing reality is the one thing that we do have control over. As we embrace transition, we see its true purpose – to allows us to release what no longer serves us and helps us ease into our own evolution.
