When something is removed from our life there is space for new possibilities.
I used to visit Toowoomba every few months during the seven years I lived in Melbourne, and if Mum was using her car, I would have to borrow one of Dad’s vans to visit friends. On one of these visits I parked Dad’s van and went off to the Parkhouse for a nice lunch. The lunch didn’t fully eventuate, as while we were there a teenager with a phone in her hand wrote the van off. I called my Dad, thinking he would be pretty mad. After the van was towed away, we had a cup of tea and then headed for home. Dad said he wanted to stop at Westridge for a Trading Post to see if there were any vans for sale. I suddenly realized that he wasn’t really that mad. He was kind of excited about what he might buy next.
The universe and I have been playing a game with each other for years now. Either I will upend my life in pursuit of the next level of self-growth, or life will throw me or gently nudge me out of whatever comfortable space I’ve made for myself. It’s often in retrospect that the reasons become clearer. The physical symptoms that I was experiencing during the past few months might have been real, or just a catalyst to pave the way for the next thing that’s waiting for me. Life is a continual surprise. Only a couple of days after making the decision to break the lease and pack things up, I received a call which resulted in an exciting new job for the summer and my dusting off the shelved idea of a PhD application.
Over the last couple of years, I've been on a journey to making my life more intentional in every way by making space for the things that matter most and bring the greatest wellbeing. Marie Kondo, author of 'The Lifechanging Magic of Tidying Up', says that everything in our lives should either be useful to us or should "spark joy". It sounds obvious, but it truly is a lifechanging concept. In a world full of endless choice, we must somehow streamline our lives in the ways that best suit us.
This pandemic experience has enabled many of us to reflect on the things that we want to remove from our lives, and those that should remain. We have discovered that there are things we long for, and that there are things we don't miss. For me it has brought an even stronger commitment to seek joy wherever it may be found.
There are things in our lives that we simply don't need, that are weighing us down, and that are contributing to our feeling obligated, guilty, tired, unmotivated or overwhelmed. These things can go! And, if life decides to remove something from us, we might consider that it is only creating space for new, wonderful possibilities to come in. As Maria in The Sound of Music said, "When God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window".
I would say, "Throw open the doors, throw open the windows, and trust that life will bring only those new possibilities that enable you to create the next level of self-growth and joy".
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