Transitions

Transitions are everywhere. You know, those in between places and spaces that feel like time wasters or unproductive waiting. If I stop to think about it these places and spaces actually fill up quite a bit of my time. A few examples include stop lights, checkout lines, voicemail, customer service, pandemic delays, cancelations, relocation, reduced bandwidth not to mention non-working or broken appliances, cells, computers or relationships. The number of times a day where I am actually waiting for something is quite extraordinary and not in the usual sense of the word indicating exceptionalism. 

Although, at this time in life, I am coming to see that the word extraordinary, with its connotation of exceptionalism, best describes these transitional places and spaces. My thinking is slowly shifting to believe that It is quite exceptional to have so many opportunities to practice noticing what is actually arising in me at these moments of waiting. What thought about having to wait for something or someone is present? What emotion does waiting produce in me? What judgements or beliefs am I insisting upon as I wait? These are pristine opportunities to actually witness what is in me and perhaps make a conscious change to not judge, or, to discard an old belief that is not actually true or no longer serves me. These are opportunities for me to make different choices about the way I spend time in the transitional space.  

For today I’m going to take this ordinary life and watch for those extraordinary moments of transition to see what new thing I can learn about myself. If you are at all inclined I invite you to join me and perhaps let me know what you notice as you curiously watch your own arising.