Three Generations of women - daughter Jessica, mother Monna and Marla Dee

I feel compelled to write about walking through the BIG CHANGES – the ones that rock your world, leave you breathless, and wondering if you will ever be grounded again.  

Somehow two months have flown by since I last wrote.  I am sitting at my desk and shaken as I relive the intense changes that have taken place in this short time.  I am especially struck by the story of my daughter, myself and my mother – three generations all going through big chapter changes at the same time.  My daughter has started high school, going from a small Arts School of 250 to a huge High School of 2500.  This last weekend I packed up our home of the last 4 years as we get ready to move to Wasatch Commons, a co-housing community and whole new world.  And I just recently spent precious time with my parents in Oregon as they come to the end of 50 plus years sharing a home together. (Their aging requires that they will be moving into separate housing the end of September.)  For all three of us, the change brings up all kinds of “stuff”.  It would be impossible for our bodies, our brains or our emotions to do it all at once.  Thankfully, we don’t have to.  We get to walk through the changes “one step at a time.”

So how do I get through those BIG CHANGES – the ones that rock my world and leave me breathless, wondering if I will ever be grounded again?  I must admit that even in the midst of the upheaval this summer, I have felt grounded most of the time.  I have been asking myself, how can that be?  The answer is simple – I have practiced staying fully present in the one step I am on.  I keep hearing the guiding words

–       just stay in today Marla

–       keep your energy here as you pack this one box

–       enjoy this one sweet sharing with your mother

–       give your full attention as you take your daughter to school on her first day

–       work with this one client in this one room

Even big changes unfold in a way that aligns with nature and my rhythm if I stay present in the now.  It is only when I get ahead of myself – all tied up in the next week, next layers or the whole project that I get paralyzed.

SEE IT – What is the one “next” step I need to take in this change?

MAP IT – The gift of having a visual MAP is the easy clarity on what is needed for the next step.

DO IT – Put your full presence into this singular step.  This was my practice for getting this blog written finally.  Just sit down and write now Marla.

What BIG CHANGE are you in the middle of?  I would love to hear from you and I hope you can use the Clear & SIMPLE Systems to help.