In the Meantime: Transitions


We speak the words, IN THE MEANTIME a lot. As I open myself to this process of being in this meantime, I become more acutely aware of how often we even say these words. I was speaking with a client recently, and this person was talking about the transition he/she is in currently in regards to a change or transition to a new career to represent the new phase they are entering. That made me think of a new phase I am entering and also the phases I have made in my life to this point.

Life itself engages us in many transitions. We transition from infant to toddler, to small child, to child, to pre-teen, to teenager, to young adult, to middle age, to retirement. I like to think of retirement in terms of time to retire; put a set of new wheels on us to reflect the stage of life beyond raising children and beyond the normal work years where we are actively working to make enough money to support ourselves and our family. In this phase, we are rethinking about what has meaning to us, what legacy, if any, we want to leave behind, what we hope we have accomplished, what we wish to share, and so on. Some people in this phase look at mentoring others, or writing a book, or changing careers, or volunteering or sailing around the world. I couldn't resist the sailing part, because that in effect is what happens with some of us. It becomes a time where we can relax and even enjoy life more and accomplish a life's dream or bucket list if you will before we pass on or transition into the next life.

I am presently in this phase of life. In being here, in the time of how can I share what I have learned, and what form will it take, I find myself in a life's transition, or a large, IN THE MEANTIME.  It is both exciting, thrilling, and scary. This cycle I am in is also entering a period of the unknown. In some ways, during the other life cycles I have lived, I had an idea of where it would take me. I knew when I was a young woman I wanted to do work of some service to others. I had an idea of what that might look like for my work. I had a sense I would marry and have children, and that this would take me through my middle years and into my senior years. I had not thought much about what would give me meaning in my later years, and what shape this might take. Many people retire during this time. They stop their life's work and do something entirely different. I know that is not true for me; not in that way. I am in a time of reflection. I love my work that I know. I am ready for it to begin to take a slightly different form.

I have pushed myself most of my life. That is what I do. I have a lot of energy, and most of my life didn't come easily to me. I pushed, and I worked, and quite frankly, I operated without a lot of trust in the knowledge that all would be ok. Just like many of us, I didn't have an easy early life and my young experiences with my caretakers, my parents, was difficult. I have struggled with the innate sense, in a visceral way, that with a clear vision and daily work, that life would work out. I knew it in my head, but in my body, I always had doubts. This showed up for me in low-grade anxiety and a constant push. Sometimes I pushed harder than others. I feel this changing for me. I am starting to know, deeply, from an inside place, that I don't have to push; that with daily putting one foot in front of the other and doing what I enjoy doing, in addition to doing what needs to be done, the all-important grounding work, that all will just fall in place and will be what it will be. I am ok with that. The shift for me is that there is nothing better than to have things be what they will be, and that is good enough. It, therefore, becomes time for me to ask the all-important questions another time, in this phase or cycle, what makes me happy, and what legacy do I want to leave behind, and in what form? All this beautiful reflection is occurring IN THE MEANTIME. In the meantime I am living my life, doing my work, finding time for fun and enjoyment, visiting my son and other family members, gardening, cooking and just plain living. 


Just finished birthday lunch with our grandson πŸŽ‚

My new friend, Bandit. She joined me for breakfast 🦜

Crow and Kosmo πŸΆπŸ•

Rebecca my niece, Barie my sister, My father and Zeb, my son

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Tenth Key: The Power of Our Shadow Side

The Ninth Key: The Power of Rest and Fallowness

Venus and The Art of Love