It’s all necessary …
I felt called today to write a bit about transition zones. Lately there has been a spotlight shown on this theme in my life and in the energy around me.
I often think to how I observe my students or clients transition from the table or a position of deep relaxation and restoration back to a more active place:
Do they take their time in getting up and enjoying the kind of twilight zone moments?
Do they pop up quickly and jolt right back into the place they were in before they arrived?
Do they refuse to move?
… again I want to make this clear … there is no wrong or right way here …
I do not intend on passing any more judgment onto our already overly bombarded by judgment systems … I just wanted to bring in this observation: How do we transition and what does this say about how we relate to the idea of transitioning as a whole?
In life we interface with transition on a constant basis … whether it’s getting out of bed in the morning to dealing with a major loss life or waiting for a planted seed to blossom …
The question is, what is our own patterned experience around transitions?
I feel like this is an especially interesting and potent place to explore – especially for those of us who may not be conscious of how we deal with transition (change).
I’ll share a personal experience as an example …
When I reflect on my own ways of how I deal with transition, I realize there are many … but this theme prevails … either avoidance or the “get it over with quick” approaches. I have a tendency to cling so as not to go through the door or I try to bulldoze through quickly … kind of like ripping off the band-aid and getting on with it … except I can’t … get on with it, that is.
What I didn’t realize, was that in one way or another I was avoiding the experience of the transition itself and this was actually making it harder for me …
When I thought the experience was behind me, it would reappear in awkward places as a familiar and unwelcome guest. Sadness? Loneliness? Uncertainty? Loss? I thought I was over you … why do you keep popping your head up again and again?
What I now realize is that the transitions are a vital part of the journey … they are the pause that happens before the expansion … like the pause between the inhale and the exhale … that moment of stillness at the crest of the wave before it peaks and breaks … the precious moment of the expression of potential power.
I had no idea …
I simply had no idea how potent this place was … this place I was avoiding … because frankly it doesn’t feel good most of the time.
The transition point can be very very very uncomfortable. But it’s just as essential to the journey than the destination or the result.
Because of this, it can also be difficult to recognize 1) that we are in a transition 2) that it’s time to give ourselves extra space and patience 3) we need to rest.
The last one can be extra difficult for a lot of us.
This idea of pausing. The natural rhythm of ebb and flow and the pause in the middle. We need to rest.
And …
It’s ok to rest. It’s ok to acknowledge that you don’t know the next steps. It’s ok to not know where you are going all of the time. It’s ok to trust the higher process.
It’s ok to hang out in the liminal spaces for as long as we need to … until they are complete …
If you were looking for permission to fully embody and embrace the transition space, here it is …
My invitation to you …
Start to notice what your own tendencies around transition are …
Do you have any thoughts or beliefs around how to deal with change?
When you think about a difficult or uncomfortable transition time in your life, what do you notice in your body? Is there a sensation that you notice? Where is the sensation?
Just notice what you notice … there is no “right” way to feel or go through transitions … this is meant to help to bring some awareness and reflection …
To give a spaciousness and permission to allow for a pause … allow for a listening … and begin to crack open the door to a powerful resource that lies within …
Much love,
Jenn
