I find that in times of in-between, when you can feel one part of life ending and another beginning, it can be a process finding where to spend time, how to process all that is happening, how to find peace in the unknown. I am in the midst of this currently and am in it so deep, it’s hard to answer to questions with more than, “I don’t know,” or “I’m not sure yet.”
While in this phase of life, the one thing I know that is helping is to move out of my head and into my body. Some examples:
Creating. This can be cooking or baking, drawing or doodling, watercolors or craft. Something to get the creative energy that may be building up a channel for expression.
Exercise. Movement. Walking, yoga, stretching. All of it. Nothing like a good run to move out of your head and into your body.
Work. I drove by a farm near our house and saw a young man chopping firewood in his front yard. I immediately wanted to chop wood when I returned home. The physical sensation of farm work/garden work/yard work is so therapeutic. I admit I am slow to get outside to do this work, but am so glad once I am out doing it.
Home chores. I have written about the peace of hand-washing laundry before, but this really extends to all chores. Not only can it be soothing to be fully immersed in an activity that occupies both your body and mind, but a clean-clutter-free home makes for a peaceful environment. And at the same time, I love to see shoes by the front door and a rock climbing bag hanging from the dining chair. I see the artifacts of the life we live together and it makes me so grateful.
Letting go of the phrase, “I need to figure this out.” Have you ever been driving home from somewhere and a movement comes over you - I should take this other way home today. You’re not sure why or where it came from, but it is just a movement, a listening to your inner self. That’s it. It’s moving into that place of living. There is no figuring out here. There is only waiting and living and breathing into knowing.
This place of in-between can be unnerving at times. It is filled with more questions than answers. And it is all a part of it. It can be scary and beautiful. Let us not be tense in this place. Let us rest here, knowing that this time is as valuable as moving towards a specific destination. This is the place of incubation, letting the seeds of creation take root in us before they rise above the soil to see the light of day, all the while growing and stretching and becoming their next form of expression. This takes energy, it takes patience and love. Let us be patient and loving towards ourselves here. Let us hold space for the Divine to work its way into our life. Let us not worry in the open spaces - let us instead fill them with God and Love and Possibility. Let us rest here, for we are forming a new way of living in this world.
