TRANSITIONS

Inevitable, inexorable
Chosen or not
Planned or not
Animate or inanimate
We all experience them
And are changed in the process.

Every breath you take
And every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
You’re transitioning (with apologies to Sting)

Change, flux, metamorphosis, transition - it is constant, continuous, universal; an unavoidable feature of existence.

Our very concepts of time and our observations and measurements of it are concepts, observations and measurements of transitions. Days, and their subdivisions of hours and seconds, their aggregations of weeks, months, years and centuries - these are our common human descriptions of the ongoing transition of the position of the earth’s surface relative to the sun. 

“Season” is a word we use to describe the observable, recurring cycle of transitions of daylight and darkness, patterns of temperature, weather and climate, and the effects upon living things which results from these cycles of the earth’s position relative to the sun.

Season is also a word we use metaphorically to describe common stages of human life. “I am in the autumn of my life,” or “she is experiencing a season of grief” are the sorts of statements we have likely heard. And they have instant meaning for us without a lot more description, as referring to a stage of some significant duration with somewhat predictable conditions, out of which the person will typically transition to another “season.”

In a series of articles I intend to post to this blog, I will explore the topic of transitions and how we may, through mindfulness and choice, manage and respond to them.

Lorne