Transitions aren’t something you immediately describe as beautiful. At the last sack lunch mini yoga retreat Aubrey and I chose the theme of transitions not just because it was back to school, the end the summer and the beginning of trees changing colors, we chose it because everyone is always going through some change or another. Each day we awake we are little different than the day before–our cells regenerated like our thoughts, experiences, and perspective. Less than ten hours after we go to bed each night and awake to another day the people we interact with, the headline news, the little moments in our day shaping what we think, how we act and what we feel.

When we gathered in circle twelve women who may not know the others listened and then took their turn around the circle to voice their pain. Express their joy. There is such beauty and release in forming words for others to hear about what is going on inside of us. Death, menopause, children moving on, parents aging, relationships ending and new ones beginning, illness, risks taken, jobs lost, jobs found, overwhelm, confusion—all change. Naming what we are feeling can take our breath away even when we are the one who has been right in the middle of it all along. We receive an unexpected gift of a stranger’s compassion that simply comes with their pause in their own life to listen to what is going on with us. I am in awe of the growth and healing of our own stories that ignite when we listen to others. Stepping out of our drama to listen, not fix, or adjust another’s situation can have the power to transform and heal our own suffering. Their struggle mirroring ours and the way they are maneuvering through is a balm for our spirit, an inspiration of support.

As a life coach I get the honor to witness the transitions of clients each week, month or over a longer period of time. I receive inspiration and motivation for my own growth when I am allowed to watch, participate, witness and uncover alongside their journey. A passenger along for the ride. Here are some things to remember when you are in the middle of a change you don’t want to be in:

• This too shall pass.
• Apply wonder and curiosity to the situation.
• Be gentle with yourself and others.
• Create a bit of daily joy.
• Believe there is something better waiting around the corner.
• Trust the unfolding.

Here are some things to remember when you know you need to make a change and you are resistant:

• You have been wanting to make this change for a reason — trust yourself.
• Change takes time but it begins with one small step.
• You can ask for help.
• You don’t have to do it on your own.

Without change we would never learn, grow, and ultimately participate fully in this life we are here to live. Life dishes out hard, take our breath away changes but we get through them, we persevere. We blossom.

So if your kids left you with an empty nest, you lost a loved one, you need to step into the unknown and you are uncertain or you want things to be like they used to be, lean into your grief, allow it to carry you home. It may end up as a beautiful thing.

Cheers, Jenny