Photo quote de jour

I think the gods are trying to tell me something. Last night high winds snapped our power lines and I woke up with a cold nose. No power, heat, or hot water. Again! Am I not supposed to blog? Launch my new life coaching website? Bathe? We missed a funeral this morning juggling more tradespersons for storm damage related estimates from electricians to roofers. At the very least, I wanted to attend the post burial luncheon, so I boiled up some water on a camp stove on the porch and had, ahem, a French bath. I pulled my boots on headed to a nearby restaurant where I've never appreciated a hot meal in a warm room more.

My theme this week is about change and transition. I began yesterday by exploring the first part of transition: change and endings. The second part is the in between stage of stasis or dormancy before the final stage of action. I had planned to write something entirely different but life has a way of interfering with change. Before making a successful transition without tearing your hair out, I'd advise not skipping any steps. Change is dis-orienting, and I find the only way to move forward is to let go. A new door won't open if you're clinging to an old, closed door. So, there is no hot water, or job or friend or whatever;
let go, accept, improvise.

The stages of transition are subtle and if you rush to quickly into action, you might miss valuable clues to why things changed, why the necessary losses happened and what to do next. After lunch, by confluence of fate and Con Ed, power was restored. I could have jumped online or tackled a foot-long to-do list but instead, I sat on the lawn and noticed life unfolding around me. Tiny blue scilla flowers had bloomed overnight under the crab apple tree, a half moon peeked through the branches, clusters of deep purple crocuses had exploded through dead leaves, the sun felt warm, the wind cool. A heaviness from a large Italian lunch with wine spread through my limbs and down into the ground. I thought of the conversations over lunch with friends and strangers. I wondered who's funeral would be next. I let the cats out to sniff the new grass and snapped a few photos and gave thanks to the gods for being alive.