I find my self in transition. Not the slow transitions of inevitable change as we move through time, nor the planned and thought-out movements form one solid starting point to a static goal. This transition is different. This is a transition to “flow”.
The transition I am going through right now is beyond anything my small mind could have conceived, and more than my mid-western stoic upbringing would allow myself to believe I am worthy of. I am opening up, waking up, remembering who I am and why I am here. What this transition is exactly is irrelevant to this post, indeed it would take many posts to even begin to try to explain it; what is important is how I encouraged it, and how I am navigating it.
Desire
Desire… a word like this is completely covered in negative connotations. It can evoke thoughts of lust, corruption, self-indulgence, and appear a contrary to morality; & that thought needs untwisting.
It is not enough to hate a situation, it is not productive. Negative feeds negative, one only makes the situation worse when one fights it. No one can create positive change in their lives while continually using emotions such as anger, fear, remorse, regret, and self-defeating attitudes. These thoughts and emotions only feed the situation.
If one works with a positive attitude in that environment, one can change their perspective, true, but not the situation. If the intent is to simply endure and cope with a life that lacks fulfillment (& I am in no way telling anyone what fulfillment is for them), then a positive attitude & a smile can go a long way… but to encourage transition and change, one must have a desire for change.
True heart-felt desire. Know you are worth more than you give yourself credit for. Know there is a plan for you, have a true desire to move past where you are. Stoke the desire, nurture it, honor it; eventually it will outweigh apprehension.
Clear & Hold Space
How much of the stuff we own is useless? No function other than taking up space in our homes, minds, & emotions? How many clothes are hanging in a closet waiting to be worn after hanging for over a year. How much furniture do we own and not even really like or use? What things are being held on to for purely emotional reasons… how many of those are negative anchors holding you back?
It is difficult to encourage change when there is no room for it in one’s life. It’s that simple. Clean out your physical space. Clean a junk drawer, clean out your closet, get rid of “stuff”. Start.
How does one decide what to keep & what to throw? I use a simple rule… If it isn’t useful to me or if it doesn’t bring me joy, it is gone. I would rather have a blank wall than art that does not bring me joy, I would rather have 5 shirts I regularly wear than 20 I don’t like, just so my closet is full. Get used to having some empty space, see it as possibility, not just a void to be filled by whatever happens to come along. Be discerning in what you invite into your space.
This simple act can encourage transition. The gross (physical) and the subtle (spiritual) mirror one another… & that mirror works two ways.
Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
The very thought of being uncomfortable is reason to stop for many people. Many traditions teach that being comfortable is a sign of creator’s blessings, some cultures teach being comfortable is the goal of one’s life, and many individuals will fight to remain there at any and all costs.
Change and transition in this life are always marked with feelings of being uncomfortable or on-edge in new territory; and the horror of watching one’s own world-view and preconceptions waver, falter and collapse in the face of new information and personal experience. Go there, intentionally. Question everything, especially the topics that make you uncomfortable & the things you all ready know. Question it!
Make friends with your fear, acknowledge it and then study it. Look how closely it resembles excitement if it wasn’t for the unknown attached to it. This is where the serendipity lies: in the unknown, the unformed, in the possibility. The very source of discomfort is the point of power, the point of creation. Rest when tired, but do not retreat.
You Can Do This!!!
Hold your desire as a beacon for change.
Clear space in your home, mind, emotions, and spirit and hold that space until something in alignment with your desire fills it.
Buckle-up, the ride is about to begin.
jason lindell 