Navigating Change for Makers Part II - the gift of uncertainty

Sometimes when I am at a crossroads trying to decide which direction to take - I get rid of something.

Sometimes a whole lot of somethings.

(once an entire business that I flew to Chicago and dumped onto my niece's livingroom floor)

I sell it or give it away or throw it away or often I leave it at the curb with a FREE sign carelessly lettered on a piece of cardboard and it is ... gone ... fast.

(one of the great things about the crowded state of New Jersey is that there is a home for every unwanted end table, broken flower pot and bottle of Debbie Gibson cologne circa 1988)

the very first spring cleaning was almost certainly a woman who having been cocooned by winter for far too long and seeking expansion simply shed what she could not take with her

Often the act of shedding alone can create the space for us to get clear on what we want.

Sometimes it feels like we have no choices - like things are going on outside of our control - but we can usually control what we do today.

Today we can make a courageous choice and stick with it. We won't look back and wonder what if - we won't look forward and wonder what lies ahead.

We will simply choose.

When we think we should know what to do or need to know what is going to happen or what is next - we get stressed. Stress is not good.

(well, sometimes stress is good because it makes us decide, but usually stress is to negative 'feeling' the way that worry is to negative 'thinking' it can quite literally eat us up)

But when we embrace that not knowing is our natural state - we can open into that.

We can see that, in a sense, we can’t really know anything. We have never and will never know anything. So when the time comes to make a decision, we simply choose.

we simply choose and let life change us

(feeling inspired right now by the painful journeys that have brought us to the places we would have never chosen and in the end have taught us a little bit about what we are made of - which is stars and galaxies and total amazingness actually and I promise to tie this into our makings models in Part III - trying to keep these posts short and sweet - just like me and Olive - ack) xo

* one day handwritten print by merelee made

2 comments

doforanimals said...

My indecision was fueled by the pain of possible regret. Now I'm finding that the fear of INdecision is taking over, meaning, I'm finally getting rid of things, making choices, and not looking back.

Catherine Ivins said...

I read something on a dog blog yesterday about the ways we are like our pets and how we can learn from them and then saw your comment and your commitment to "not look back" - Olive is a terrible leash walker because she is constantly stopping and looking behind her - it takes us forever to get anywhere. I always say that she came into my life to make me stop and play because she is the most playful pup that has ever lived, but now I see she is also a good example of how I will never get anywhere if I keep looking backwards ... thank you for your words Diane!