365 Inspirations—262: Transitions (i.e. marriage, children, new job, loss of job, divorce, death)

"Divorce, disease and death don't have to be terrible journeys that we should all avoid, they can be enlightening journeys of growth, depth and new understanding."—Katherine Jenkins

CHANGE

How do you feel about that word?

Transition is my inspiration today. Life is full of transitions, some small and some life changing.

Our world seems to be getting smaller and smaller. All we have to do is log onto Facebook or Twitter and we find out in an instant who gave birth or who died.

Most people like to share the good things on these sites. We see hundreds of pictures of newborn babies from every angle. Wedding pictures splatter the pages showing happy faces and sunshine. Those traveling to exotic locations around the globe like to include albums of their travel pics (I'm one of those people). It's enlightening and uplifting to read about these transitions. We prefer, on average, to share those transitions which are positive.

But what about the not-so-postive transitions? What about divorce, disease and death? The three Ds? Not many people are willing to share these or look at these as a transition anyone would CHOOSE to have.

The funny thing is that we will ALL, each one of us, get sick at one point or another and we will ALL die.

I know you are thinking, "Please don't remind me, I don't want to hear it, I want to focus on the positive transitions!"

I don't know what it is about our culture that makes us afraid to except all transitions equally as passages to a new way of living. One is not better than the other, it is just different.

Divorce, disease and death don't have to be terrible journeys that we should all avoid, they can be enlightening journeys of growth, depth and new understanding.

If everything in life were simple and easy, full of ponies and rainbows and sunshine, then why would we need to make any effort at all.

I realize that being a positive person may make it difficult for others to open up to me about their own suffering or uneasiness. Sometimes it is even difficult for me to open up on such topics because who wants to be a downer, right?

The truth is, when I do choose to share that my day is not going so well or that I'm suffering in some way, people are often very empathetic and supportive. Why? Because THEY'VE BEEN THERE. We have all been there.

Maybe they haven't had exactly the same experience, but each one of us has had to go through our own share of not-so-wonderful times.

No matter what any of us may be experiencing at this moment in time, there's one thing for certain. IT WILL CHANGE.

The process may not feel nice. We may even feel like running away or escaping. But if we can move through the transition. If we can look at our situation and say, "This is happening right now. Things are changing. I'm going through this transition. I'm here and witnessing it and hopefully learning and growing from it," then it doesn't matter what we may be experiencing or going through. It is in fact all the same: a learning experience.

And now you are asking, "What transition are you going through?"

And here it is:

My husband is planning on closing his yoga studio in order to pursue a self-sustained business model. I believe this is necessary and will turn out extremely positive, but the process is scary. He has built a very wonderful community near Seattle. I believe that community will continue, it will just take on a different form.

Do you tend to embrace transitions (positive or negative), or do you try to avoid them like the plague?