Transition, transition, transition how much I disliked that word and I was going to be there for 3 painful years…
I was living in South Africa for 10 years and I knew the time to return to my home country was arriving. How did I realize, you must wonder. Well I went from happiness to unhappiness, from fulfillment to unfulfilled, from joy to loneliness, from sunny days to stormy days. Something was changing and it was inside me though I couldn’t see it at that time.
A big change was approaching and I was feeling exactly as Grace describes it in chapter 3 in her book, Signs of intersection, “I was buried under a cloud of confusion and in some mild form of depression. I knew that something was missing in my life, but couldn’t quite put a finger on it. I didn’t feel alive and struggled with a sense of life direction.”
All the signs of intersection were there, anxiety, stress, anger, frustration, lots of questions without answers. It was as if the world was coming to an end and I was ending with it. It was also affecting my spiritual life and it was as if God was silent – but He was working. One day I prayed and said « LORD, I do not know what to do, with whom to speak what but I trust you to show me “and He sent His angel!
I started to understand that I was approaching a mayor intersection in my life, not only was I changing continents but also my career was changing from a Counselor to a Writer, from listening to people to be listened to. I followed Grace’s advise as she writes it in her book and I STOP: Step back, Think, Observe and Proceed.
I confessed that to STOP was not easy, at the beginning the temptation to slow down but not stop was there but it is true that success comes when we stop, observe and then proceed and I did not wanted an everlasting transition.
Times of contemplation, reflection and dreaming were my new hobbies. New dreams, passions and desires started to rise. But still I couldn´t see the connection within it, the old and the new had to connect somewhere and I couldn´t see it. Trust my instincts and listen to them was something to pay more attention to and learn to follow.
After three long painful years I can say I am at the end of the STOP, proceeding and feeling anew, having a completely new vision that is growing every day, a sense of contentment is arising and with it full purpose of life. I am writing not just articles but also my first book and it is amazing to see how my life is all perfectly woven through my experiences, knowledge, talents, gifts, all working together in perfect harmony.
I feel joy as I am writing to share this with you and I do want to encourage you to also embrace transition. It is not a nice place to be at the beginning but when it ends – and believes me it does! – it brings all the goodness and joy to your life and those around you get the benefits of it as well. Oh, a new sense of contentment is arising!
