Transitions fill life — birth, becoming a teenager, turning 21, marriage, children, empty-nesting, and so on and so forth. Important milestones all, and each person celebrates their own timeline, filled with major and minor mile markers. Do you take note of them, or like so many of us, do you let the pass with just a brief glance?
If you are like my father (and his father…), you stop at all the historical markers along the highway: North Platte River, Nebraska: a popular stopping point for wagon trains on the Oregon Trail. Have you seen that one? How many people paused in that spot, dreaming of a new life? Did they see the same landscape stretching flat and wide? Were they scared or excited? How many made it through to the other side to tell their story?
And in our personal lives, we need to mark our own milestones more often. We need to take stock of our feelings and the lessons learned to this point. What can we bring forward, what can be left behind?
Some people call this mindfulness; being present to enjoy and engage the moment. The trick is to not be so caught up in the drama of the day’s activities to recognize that something important is happening.
It’s nice to have a friend who can pull you from the day-to-day and get your attention. I’m in the midst of a transition myself, having resigned from my job without another to go to, and I have a few friends who are reminding me to take note.
On my last day in the office after almost 12 years, one friend and colleague stopped by to say to goodbye. Or so I thought. Actually, he came by and asked me to go for walk — it wasn’t long and thankfully it was in the shade. He said it was my transition walk, each step in one direction to say goodbye, and each step in the other to physically signal my brain that we were off on a new adventure.
He told me to laugh or scream or pray or talk my way out of the life I was leaving behind as we strolled. I chose to talk about all of the people that had been helping me, had been saying goodbye, had listened to and supported me since making the announcement about leaving.
We paused for a moment at the end of the path for a prayer. It was a quiet one, full of gratitude and hope. Then we turned and started the new path. We talked of the importance of hope, for I had lost mine last December. But my choice in June to leave had lit a small flame again. It was coming back. It is coming back.
It was a touching surprise to offer those few minutes during a chaotic day. I thought i knew what was going to happen. When the unexpected occurred, trust in my friend allowed me to take the small steps. They were a concrete action, a signal to the universe that I was open for the new possibilities and experiences.
I carry the feeling of hope and turning with me each day, and that is an amazing gift.I hope I can be that encouraging friend to another. Sometimes it’s good to pause, take a deep breath and notice, well, you.
Christina's New Deal 