I know I must be in transition when I have another one of my dreams about needing to pack up everything from college and get on a flight. Usually I have only an hour before I need to leave and haven’t begun packing.
These packing-up-school dreams usually stress me out – or reflect that I’m stressed out. Lately I’ve had a few moments where preparing for a weekend trip has become a last minute rush not unlike these dreams. For example, an hour before departure I cut my finger on a tuna can and then rushed around the house packing with my dominant hand elevated above my head.
These messy transitions in my life and dreams have been an invitation to think about personal and collective transitions and how we make ourselves available for what’s next.
Practicing Transition
When I started reflecting on transitions I realized that my qigong practice has been helping me through transitions all along. At it’s core the practice is about helping one transition from ordinary life to conscious union with the divine. The practice is the transitional bridge. The first thing that we do is begin breathing more deeply – completely letting go of the breath and making room for renewal. Releasing and making room for the love of the universe is the core theme throughout the exercises and meditations.
When I brought up transitions in a recent qigong practice group many people had very tender transitions happening in their lives. While they bring possibility of something new they also involve loss. Yet something new can only emerge in the space created by letting go.
Transitions take space and time.
When I forget this I end up packing in a panic. When I forget the space needed for transitioning through illness, loss, or change I can end up fighting with loved ones.
My mother’s artful photo of my messy kitchen.
Sometimes transitions are thrust on us when we really don’t have space or time for them like job changes, accidents, and now climate change. Even when we really don’t have what we think is “enough†time, we have to figure out how to stay available for what’s next.
The freer we feel as people, and more adept we are at balancing our own energy, the easier and quicker transitions can become.
The best way to move to the next is to take care of the now.
This means taking care of my health, my home, and my relationships so I can feel free and available. My recent stressed-out departures are showing me that my home and garden need some more attention. The messes, weeds, and peeling paint are getting in the way of me experiencing my home as the grounding, energizing launching pad that it can be.
Our collective relationships and way of life also need our attention in order to move towards a regenerative society. This is why healing, reconciliation, and reparations are so essential.
What loose end needs your attention right now so that you can be more available for what’s next?
Wishing you freedom and ease,
Emily
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