Endings are powerful points of transition. They grab our attention and ask us to clarify their meaning. They want answers. What did you gain from the experience? What did you learn? What might you have done differently? Some endings are uninvited. Others we choose. Either way we must adjust. Often our self-image needs to shift.
Being the one who ends something precious can be tricky. It is for me. I am ending a retreat that I have cherished for nearly a decade. This year from August 26th to the 31st I will guide my final Women Writing to Unfold Retreat in Taos, New Mexico. Shocking to write this and yet my soul calls me in another direction. New possibilities are awakening in me. Small clues about what is next dance at the edge of my awareness.
When an ending is of our choosing, we willingly trade the known for the unknown. Still, fear and anxiety can set up camp in our thoughts. I have asked myself more than once, “Are you sure about this? Why leave something you love for who knows what?” But I have a hunch that a different path is preparing to appear.
Souls speak in a language of inklings, hunches, and nudges.
That is confusing to our rational self.
The mind loves to have everything neatly ordered. It prefers logical steps. Well, I do not have a plan. My steps are unclear. Shifts in my self-image have begun. I need to trust that this is the right direction. I can recall my journey through other endings. That is helpful. Yet, there is a deeper place to rely upon. It is more profound than remembering how I navigated similar situations.
I have learned to trust my inklings, hunches, and nudges. They connect us to the flow of life and its unfolding nature. I have faith that the tulips will bloom in the next few days. Like the tulips, we each have an instinct to bloom. We are unfolding. Our soul’s strange language can guide us to the core of our being. My soul is leading me to a deeper expression of my authentic self.
Retreats are always a wonderful place to clarify what has meaning for our life. This will be particularly true this year. My letting go of future retreats at Mabel’s creates a profound opening. We will dive into that opening. What might we discover at the threshold between what was and what is becoming?
We will see!
Strong mountain energy and ancient earth memories will once again blend with female longing. That is a powerful mixture that unearths important questions. Do you have inklings about a new direction for your life? Where is your soul leading you? What does it want you to know about your authentic self?
These are soulful questions to ask at any time in our life.
Common wisdom says, “When one door closes another door opens.” This is a predictable happening in every life. Here is the challenge: as that door closes, will you look away or embrace its lessons? There is often much to learn.
Awareness of what we are saying goodbye to is powerful. Sinking into endings is often difficult. They are laden with emotions. This goodbye has stirred many feelings in me.
My heart will be full of gratitude as I close Mabel’s charming, turquoise, trimmed door. I am sure of that. I found part of me while held in her thick Adobe walls. I was the guide, and the witness to many women who found their voice and their truth there. Mabel’s spirit was always nearby and held us like a special glue.
These are my wishes for you and for me. May we have the courage to pause and be present as doors close. May we find gratitude for what has come before. May we find the strength to walk through a newly opened door.
Here I go.
Are you coming with me?