Transitions and Transformations

Every Tuesday I drive to my yoga class in Darien. On the way, there is a house that posts a countdown to Spring. This past Tuesday I was driving by and focused on the sign- 16 Days Left till Spring!!! Yes! YES! I think we can agree this has been a VERY long winter. Today I noticed the crocuses popping up by my back door. I love the image of new life simmering under the surface. It seems very quiet, but something is about to happen.....

Something is simmering in me. I feel as though things are shifting in areas of my life and it is making me uneasy and excited at the same time. For the better part of the winter I have been letting a physical injury heal. This has made me very restless at times. At other times I believe it is the universe's way of telling me to tend to my inner self. So I practiced clearing my head and taking a good look at the good, bad and the ugly. It has been interesting to say the least.

In yoga there is Jnana Shakti, Iccha Shakti and Kriya Shakti. Jnana is knowledge, Iccha is will and Kriya is the resulting action. Basically you know what you need to do, you decide you are actually going to do it, and the you DO it, whether that means making a major change in your life, or simply not eating your children's Valentines candy (oops).

Transitions are not always easy, in fact sometimes they downright suck. A curveball comes out of nowhere and you have to deal. People change, loved ones disappoint, SHIT HAPPENS. We can become disenchanted with aspects of our lives, big or small.

Disenchantment, whether it is a minor disappointment or a major shock, is the signal that things are moving into transition in our lives.
William Throsby Bridges

When I examined what I thought was a major disappointment in my own life, I came to realize that it was in fact an opportunity. A very nerve-wracking opportunity, but an opportunity nonetheless. Now I need to do something about it. The hard part-Transformation.  


I tell people in class that they should be proud when they fall rather than disappointed or frustrated. There is beauty and transformation in the effort. To try a pose that intimidates you is in a word, scary. To leave a situation or end a relationship that is familiar, but has transitioned into a place where you are not happy or fulfilled, downright terrifying. But how can you ever transform yourself if you don't take an active part in your own fate? 


When we were first trying to buy a house, we had a certain amount of money we could spend and I looked at EVERYTHING in our price range. It was quite depressing to say the least.  My mother would accompany me on viewings as my husband was traveling quite a bit. We bid on and lost two houses. After losing the second house and crying hysterically to my mom, she calmly told me "Everything happens for a reason." She kept saying it. In my head I was responding, "SHUT UP!!!".  But she was right. We found our house, our town and made wonderful friends. An opportunity arose in a town we wouldn't normally have chosen and now we couldn't imagine leaving, but if fate stepped in today, who knows what would happen? (No, we are not moving.)

I now realize what I thought would be a terrifying change is actually a relief. I will make decisions with an open heart rather that through fear of the unknown. I will challenge myself to take risks rather than relying on safe choices.

And I WILL NOT eat the kids Easter candy.