Being Present to Transitions
Transitions. As I write that word it feels so expansive and something that we encounter on many scales, from meeting to meeting transitions, to seasonal transitions, to life partner, career, and empty nester transitions. It really is something we encounter all the time yet seem to only really give headlines to the biggies. But what about those that are perhaps more subtle, a part of our routine, just seen as something to get through, especially the unsettling ones. Do we give them the space and reflection that could turn them into blessings in disguise?
This time of year the solstice approaches with all its darkness, yet hope in light. I celebrate the third Sunday of Advent, Guadete Sunday, a time to rejoice, even though I’m still “in waiting.”’ I walk around Lake Harriet hearing the twinkling and moaning of the ice forming - beautiful, yet a reminder of the harsh cold to come. I pack up to head south for the winter and the juxtaposition of two very different lifestyles and environments bring a little nauseous nervous feeling. The end of the year approaches and I walk towards the threshold of a new year with some regrets and also anticipation.
Each of these transitions offer their own impacts and offerings to me. Often I task-list my way through them or take them for granted, rushing to get to the other side, as if the point is to just get through it. But what I’m feeling especially poignant this year is that the transition is the place to stay awake and watch, not looking ahead to what is next, but staying present to the wisdom in the here and now. I’m experiencing, “What is right here, right now, in the range of uncertainty, messiness, anxiety, busyness and twinklings of joy and light?”
I am more intentional in my pauses, taking a breath, letting myself experience all the emotions that come with the transitions of this time. And wow, there are a lot of them. It’s in the pausing, the allowing my body, mind and spirit to fully experience the emotions that I find the nuggets of wisdom, my strength and the richness of life that is found in the transition space.
As I awoke this morning ready to write this blog and reflecting on a dream I had about driving without headlights in the pitch dark, I decided first to sit with my daily reading from Mark Nepo’s The Book of Awakening. (If you don’t have it, it’s a great New Year’s gift to give yourself!) He usually starts with a quote. Here is today’s, Dec 18th:
One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light,
but by making the darkness conscious. - Carl Jung
If your transitions at this time of year feel a bit dark or murky, I invite you to pause, explore the darkness and bring it into the light. Even a small flicker of candle light in the darkness can illuminate a whole room. Make the darkness conscious and feel your light inside, no matter its size, but feel it fully. There will always be darkness and you always have a light inside that is waiting to comfort you and light the way. A big thank you to Mark Nepo for today’s mindful activity. Perhaps you’d like to give it a try?
Sit quietly with your eyes closed and feel the light of spirit in every cell of your body.
As you inhale, feel each cell brighten.
As you exhale, feel a slight increase of light around you.
During your day, when feeling troubled, stop and breathe slowly and light your way.
(Excerpt from The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo.)