Dancing Through Transition

Today we danced.
The woman who ran the dance encouraged us to pay special attention to the transitions between the music, between our dance partners and between the rhythms. Right away I noticed that my automatic response to transition was to slow down or stop during the transition, but I had an overriding intellect telling me to keep moving, keep pushing through, keep “doing” something. I had some mystery voice telling me that if I came to a complete halt I’d somehow loose my momentum and be unable to start back up again. And so I pushed. Sometimes I had to push hard, sometimes it was easy, but it was almost always a push.
And then I thought about my life, and all the times I’ve been in some sort of transition, as I am now. I’ve transitioned through my children leaving home, divorce, break up, unrequited love, hurt feelings, declining income, bankruptcy, shifts in my work, my family and my heart. Each time my thought has been to keep pushing, keep moving, keep doing. In fact, often times the doing-ness of the push would help me avoid and deny the pain or difficulty of the transition. Sometimes, I think the push is necessary. I have experienced times that if I didn’t push, I would come to a complete standstill and be unable to care for myself or my loved ones. And so push was all I could do. But there are other times when I could find a way to push and remain gentle and compassionate with myself as well. A way to push without avoiding or denying that change can be difficult.
Transitions can be scary. As my life continues to move into new territory, new relationships, new homes, new work….. these can all be unsettling and difficult. There are learning curves to be had, loss to be mourned, changes to be experienced – and all of these things have often times left me uncertain and frightened. There have been times when the fear is paralyzing, and others when the new opportunity is exciting and inspiring. Either way, change feels uncertain, and sometimes I believe it is in my best interest to slow down, and perhaps, at times, to even come to a stand still. To allow the movement to subside, allow the decisions to unfold instead of be pushed, and to simply sit in the uncertainty and allow whatever is next to show up. I continue to try and remember that the Universe is always on my side, always conspiring for my success and has my best interest at heart….. even when it doesn’t look or feel that way.
While I plan to keep dancing through the transitions, I think I'm more likely to slow down when necessary.

Wake Up

Every day I attempt to start my day in a way that leads to joy, love and possibilities. Take a listen to this and tell me what you think!
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