Transition is the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.
All of us live, our lives are in transition from the moment we are born until the moment we die. It’s such a part of our human experience we are rarely conscious of this eternal truth.
The truth of transition is manifested both on the microcosmic plane as well as the macrocosmic plane.
Following the birth of our universe and as it expanded and cooled, transitions took place as matter changed from one phase to another, like water expanding into ice. Some of these phases have been the most dramatic events in cosmic history giving birth to the most beautiful landscapes and natural wonders of our world.
Transition created the beauty of our planet’s landscape and is infinite potential because through this process creation happens.
Is it our human nature to fear, resist and judge transition? Or have we only forgotten Life Is Transition? After all, the universe doesn’t seem to over-think, manipulate or experience anxiety as it constantly evolves. It simply does.
On a physical level our body is always in transition; Transition occurs between every inhale and exhale, muscle contraction and muscle release and every heartbeat.
Just like the universe, our physical bodies are created with a natural intelligence, which does the work for us so we don’t have to think about it and can just focus on living and creating.
So where do we experience angst in our transitional experiences? Answer: in our thoughts. Angst in born out of the perception that change is something to be feared and unnatural. Fear is driven by our belief that we cannot trust our own inner intelligence to navigate through change. This belief is rooted in the doubt that we can’t trust the end result.
When we are working-out, do our muscles worry what our body will look like after six weeks of weight training? Does the universe worry about the end result how earth changes form through our ice ages, earthquakes, volcanos or even polar shifts?
Human experience is transition. It happens whether we are aware of it or not. We become conscious of transition through external life events. Divorce, marriage, illness, change in employment, becoming parents, children leaving the home, retirement, making money, losing money, moving, death, loss, gain, going to school, graduation, etc, and even waiting for a short haircut to grow long again is an obvious transition.
It really distills down to an emotional and mental hold and release, does it not? Just as the body exhales and inhales, our muscle contract and release. And even though it is a scientific debate, it is now known that the universe expands and contacts. It is through this process that infinite potential exist. It is in this infinite potential that creation takes place.
Just as a sculptor uses his chisel to create his masterpiece, ‘life transitions’ are our own chisel, which sculpts who we are as individuals.
I get it. You are probably thinking,”Okay, Ms. Smarty Pants Therapist, this all sounds very poetic and whimsical. Yeah, great in theory but how does this help me when I am going through REAL transitions in my own life? What does any of this mean to me when my kids are leaving home or I just lost my job or my parent is dying?”
It’s all about awareness, intention and change of perception, dear reader.
I have presented this framework as a spring board to operate from in addressing our most common life transitions we experience as human beings on the mental and emotional level. It is my intention to provide you with a solid foundation to navigate through your own human transitions with a pragmatic yet thoughtful approach. Each month I will explore life transitions one topic at a time.
In spite of our human mental processes it is possible to relax into transition and see the beauty in the journey!
Life transitions cannot be avoided and should not be feared but instead, understood; Transition truly is your human chisel. It’s yours to wield as you wish. Let’s become aware of it, embrace it with purpose and resolve.
