To begin a new chapter on our journey can be overwhelming.
All those emotions,
all those deep feelings of loss and
the confusion of not knowing what lies ahead can drag us into a dark pit          BUT . . .
if we choose to
look at the next chapter as the next step in an exciting adventure,
it will make it possible for us to go forward with anticipation!

This chapter means learning to let go of “things” and reviewing what is really important to me,
prioritizing what I have accumulated
over all the previous years
so the “stuff” doesn’t
push my important, heartfelt memories out of the way.

As the years add up, the stuff adds up
until all I can see are piles of stuff and
I am afraid I will lose something important –
that is what I am dealing with now . . .
fear that a part of me,
an important memory will be discarded and
I don’t even know exactly what that means or
what to do about it.

SO, I am going to start at the top and work down in my thoughts:

#1 transitions of life
I KNOW! There are always changes that have to take place in life, some internal and some external—that’s just a statement of fact, so I have to accept that: there have been and always will be changes in life and I have made it through some pretty rough ones in the past so I will make it through these!

#2 challenging steps
YES! leaving a place I am familiar with and going to a new place is SCARY!

It is NOT comfortable to think about being in a new place or being around others I don’t know and don’t have a
relationship with in a new place—

Making a transition when nothing is in the place it used to be in and those around me aren’t going through it with me because they are already used to the place . . . challenging!

BUT I have had to walk through some dark, unfamiliar places before and LOOK AT ME, I made it and gained a part of me each time I came back to the light so watch out world, I am exploring more of me in this new place!

#3 what I can’t control
OKAY! There are some things I cannot have any control over – some health
issues just seem to pop up without
warning and I have to depend on
qualified health care personnel to
help me through them (praise God
for some of those caring people that have helped me).

So, this is one place where I refuse to let fear overcome me. I am standing up (or sitting down, ha! ha!) and saying,
whatever heath issues I have will be treated as needed just like they have been in the past and I will choose to enjoy each day and each breath I take!

#4 what I can control
YEAH! I can choose to look at things
that draw me to the light, things that
encourage my soul and fill me with hope. I can look for ways to let my creative side out and that always lifts my spirit. A pen or pencil, a pad of paper, a picture, a song, a kitty cat, a dog, or just looking at a tree going through the seasons . . .

I can choose to look at LIGHT and let it stir me to express my inner being, to spend time exploring what reveals me to me and maybe just snuggle into the fuzzy sweater or wrap up in that scarf that makes me feel pretty—

I can control where I stand each moment in my heart and in my mind!

#5 choices
NO! “No” is not always the right choice and I do have choices to make.

Like the two-year-old, I most often want to say “no” to others I feel are trying to make me go or do certain things BUT it
is always true that life needs me to say “yes” so I can move ahead on the path of life and explore the next chapter.

Fear—sure I feel some fear but that
can help me be cautious as I take the next steps.

Anxiety—you betcha, because there is much I cannot see from here and it
feels like there is so much I cannot
control but that can mean I need to
learn to trust my ultimate Guide to
provide those along the way to help
me move forward.

Overwhelmed—the word that comes to mind when I look around and try to figure out HOW to move forward but that can help me see the need to take “baby steps” in each part of the process and
to let others help me.

Perhaps the main choice I need to see is that the power of Universal Love (GOD) has been leading me on a path that would ultimately show me the choice to release myself to Love that trusts others are part of the plan in place from the beginning,

a Love that flows to and from others,
a Love that never fails,
never dies, and
always binds us all together
on a journey that never ends!

Transitions of Life
mean relaxing
into the Flow of Love . . .