Life in Transition: Into the Void
During a major life transition we tend to become fearful about what is to come, while mourning what once was. Without the familiarity of our comfort zones, we might feel as if we are floating in the void.
We live in a culture that espouses the importance of accomplishment. If and when we are not on a clear trajectory, we might feel as if we are failures, as if we are lost, as if life is unfair, as if there is something wrong with us. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am here to assure you that life transition is an unavoidable reality, it is natural, it is important, and it can take us through an important evolution of self!
There are ancient wisdom traditions that teach about an important stage of life that is intentionally meant to be spent in transition. Certain tribal cultures, for instance, send children into the woods so that they may have experiences to initiate them into adulthood. These children return to their communities more evolved, more mature, more in tune with what they are meant to do/ who they are meant to be as adults. They return to their communities with something of value to offer. In these cultures, the transitional stage in the woods is critical.
Similarly, we can embrace transition as an important stage of life with grace. When we do we uncover a treasure trove of value. Rather than fight our “life transition” by trying to force some kind of external stability, we can go with the flow of the transition, be present for the adventure, allow it to shape us, show us new perspectives, and new parts of ourselves.
Each individual will be shaped as a result of flowing with their transition in a way that is unique to them, although for the sake of getting specific, here’s one potentiality
During life transitions we learn that we cannot necessarily control external conditions, so we are given the opportunity to learn how to connect to what we can control- our inner makeup. We can, if we are willing, learn how to connect to ourselves more fully, our inner wisdom, our inner anchor- that will always remain available to us regardless of what is happening outside of us. We find stability and direction from within, rather than from without. This is the most valuable tool we can cultivate for our lives. Because, as you may have noticed, life transition will find us again eventually. The only constant is change. And the only place- the ONLY place- that will always be steady and available to us is internal. Sometimes it takes the upheaval of transition to lead us to that place.
Eventually we will find external stability once again, but it will be when the time is right for us, when we have learned what we needed to learn, when we are actually the person we need to be in order to crush the next life chapter. In order to become the more evolved version of ourselves, we will need to move through the transition with grace. We will need to allow the transition to teach us, to shape us.
If you find yourself in a life transition and would like some guidance around how to get the most out of this important stage of life…