My house is half packed.
I’ve sold or given away about 10 percent of my possessions.
The major change is still yet to come.
We’re moving, selling our house and moving to another city a few hours away.
Saying goodbye to so many people. Saying hello to so many new opportunities.
The movers come in two days, on Friday, to help pack up what we haven’t already. Which is a lot.
From the perspective of someone writing about awareness and change, there are so many themes and ideas at play. So much in flux. So much that will make sense, after the fact. Only after the change, can you understand the change.
Home
Letting go of the house we have lived in for 6 years is difficult.
Both of our children were born, right here in the living room.
We built garden beds, constructed a shed, planted fruit trees. We made this house a home. Now we’re making this home a house.
Letting go
So much time spent gathering things. So many things taking up so much mental space that you don’t even realize they are all there, till you sit down and analyze whether you need the thing… Upon full reflection you realize it is just a thing. Let it go.
I am not a pack rat. I’ve seen what pack rats do. Maybe I’m a pack mouse, a smaller scale pack rat.
In many ways it is easier to throw something away than it is to sell it. The garage sale was an exercise in frustration. Don’t they know my stuff has value? Don’t they know the care I put in to collecting those things? To have someone turn up their nose at an item when you ask 1 dollar for it… Well, it’s insulting. My stuff is precious… But in the end you realize, it’s just stuff.
Let go.
It is a good practice to allow things to flow away from you. Hold on too tightly and your hands will be full when what you really need floats by.
Practice letting go in order to be open to what you need next.
Situational Compassion
It’s easy to be cranky when you’re under this much stress. You pull inside and get defensive because you only have so much energy to go around. “Don’t they know that I’m already overstretched?!!”
It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that we are all in this together.
Remember, what you are going through, so are the people around you. My wife, my children, they are all experiencing the same level of stress and tension that I am.
If we lift each other up during this time, then we’ll all come out with our heads a little higher. It’s easy to think you’re alone when the schedule has your back against the wall.
Remember to practice extending that which you need and you can look for it reflected in others around you.
It’s easy to make mistakes. Release the errors in judgment. Take a breath. Share a hug. Reset. Be the compassionate person you are.
Transition
When you experience a transition, remember to mourn.
You are losing something and loss generates grief. You don’t need to feel guilty for experiencing grief. Sure, there are other people experiencing “real” loss, Death, Marriage disruption, breakups. It’s easy to think of 100 different things that would be worth grieving over… But not your transition.
Why not your transition?
Don’t belittle your experience.
Don’t downplay the experience of now.
Don’t undermine the value of your emotion.
What you are experiencing is real and present.
Be with your grief. Experience you transition in its fullness.
Only then can you let go and be open to what’s coming next.
What’s coming next is going to be wonderful.
But remember it’s also going to the same.
Wherever you go, there you are.
Namaste,
Kevin
