Transition

I was talking to one of my dearest friends this morning about transitions. After we hung up I looked up the definition and here is what I found:

1.noun. the act of passing from one state or place to the next.

2.noun. an event that results in a transformation

3.noun. a change from one place or state or subject or stage to another

4.noun. a musical passage moving from one key to another

5.noun. a passage that connects a topic to one that follows

6.verb. cause to convert or undergo a transition

7.verb. make or undergo a transition (from one state or system to another)

I imagined myself, years from now, referring to our move to Wisconsin as "The Great Transition of 2014" the way one might refer to the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 or the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. This made me smile. But, truly, it is huge life event and I have to allow time for my whole being to process and integrate this change.

We take so many things for granted; the air we breathe, the light we take in through our eyes, the color of the sky, the intensity of the sun, the shadows, when the sun sets and when it rises, the temperature on our skin. 

Everything is different now. Most days my eyes take in a much dimmer light. On the occasional sunny day here in the north woods the bright light that bounces off the snow is stark and almost startling compared to the intense red orange ball of heat that lit the vast desert skies. 

The sky is gray, the ground white, the trees bare except for the evergreens. When the cardinal landed on the tree outside my window earlier, it was such a contrast in this otherwise black and white photo.

I have to ask myself if I'm breathing. Something that happens automatically in our bodies as a response to change or fear or sadness, is that we stop breathing. We hold our breath. We tense up. We brace ourselves; we steel ourselves. As a result our muscles are tight, we are not getting oxygen to our brain, we are definitely not nurturing ourselves. 

The Lovingkindness (Metta) Meditation is something I came across today at onbeing.org 

This guided meditation is led by Sylvia Boorstein, a buddhist teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in northern California.

She guides us to close our eyes and take a couple of deep breaths and feel ourselves in our surroundings. Lovingkindness meditation always begins with a blessing for yourself. So, think of a blessing for yourself. "May I feel safe. May I feel content. May I feel strong. May I live with ease." 

Now picture someone you love in front of you and that they can feel you wishing the same blessing for them, "May you feel safe. May you feel content. May you feel strong. May you live with ease."

Boorstein suggests you smile as you are saying these blessings. Next, you think of someone that you don't think about that often, but that you can picture. See them before you and wish for them the same blessing. Now picture strangers near and far, all around the world, the globe, people just like us who want to feel safe, to feel content, to feel strong and to live their life with ease. People who share the same wishes and hopes and dreams that we have as human beings.

Wish for all those people, all beings, "May you feel safe. May you feel content. May you feel strong. May you live with ease." 

If you wish, you can find her entire guided meditation at onbeing.org

Meditation helps us to soften, to breathe more deeply, to become aware. Mindfulness invites us to slow down, be present to the moment. Honor the breath. Feel your feet grounding you. 

In these moments I renew my commitment to nurture myself. To care for myself. For me, nurturing myself might mean:

asking others for support, taking time to write or do something creative, spending time with someone I love, spending time in nature, wrapping up in a big blanket and watching a movie with Jonathon, curling up in a chair and having a long conversation with a dear friend, eating a healthy meal, having a good laugh, singing out loud, moving my body (could mean taking a walk, dancing, yoga, exercising, stretching), getting a shoulder rub, lighting a candle and listening to beautiful music, getting lost in a good book...

I encourage you to nurture yourself. Take care of your self; your body, honor your feelings, your emotions. Notice what it is you need right now. Breathe!

             Slow down...

                             Put on some music,

close your eyes and say a blessing for yourself. Let it ripple out to those you love and then into the world.