Today is the last day of July. It is also the last day I will live in the town I and my family have called home for nine years. My husband and I couldn't see ourselves, both professionally and personally, staying in place for the foreseeable future. So, change has been in the air for the last few years; transitioning concretely for 12 months was the right decision but not without its challenges as well. Truthfully, I am now more than ready to say goodbye after all this time.
Tomorrow, I head to a new home and into the home stretch of turning 50 in November. I consider this a milestone, midlife. This may be a bit optimistic as it naturally means I would live to 100 in a most active, productive, and joyful manner, of course. Nonetheless, I consider the coming year to be one of opportunity, the opportunity to become the change agent of my own life.
With so many positive changes at hand for the members of my immediate family unit, including the increasing independence of my children, I want to seize the year as one of setting concrete personal goals, challenging myself, and trying new things. I may have far fewer than 50 years left, and I don't want to leave the gift of this life with regrets or allow my fears of the "new" to hold me back.
So, tomorrow I will take the first step, trusting that I learned how to walk a long time ago. One mantra I repeat applies here: "If you don't use it, you will lose it." So, I will practice a bit of courage in the coming year and commit to change. I don't know the final destination or what I might harvest from the seeds I plant, but I begin with a heart full of trust in the process and knowledge that the seed desires nothing more than to sprout. I will write about the journey here -- stay posted.
Trust
Thomas R. Smith
It's like so many other things in life
to which you must say no or yes.
So you take your car to the new mechanic.
Sometimes the best thing to do is trust.
The package left with the disreputable-looking
clerk, the check gulped by the night deposit,
the envelope passed by dozens of strangers—
all show up at their intended destinations.
The theft that could have happened doesn't.
Wind finally gets where it was going
through the snowy trees, and the river, even
when frozen, arrives at the right place.
And sometimes you sense how faithfully your life
is delivered, even though you can't read the address.
