Take That Plunge Little One
Closing a chapter on 18 years of lessons.
The amount of times I’ve seen the signs, heard the words, been told to ‘follow my gut’ over the past few years — couldn’t be more crystal clear to me that I’m on the right path. If anything, I’ve just known I was meant to leave this little island one day, physically, not spiritually.
With ‘all my ducks in a row’, I still have that little nagging going on in the back of my head - which makes us human, yet what is always in the forefront of my mind is whether or not I’m making the right decision for my son and I, whether I should remain where we are to be ‘safe’ — not ‘comfortable’, just safe, and is that really a reason to carry on surviving instead of thriving - instead of being out there in our big beautiful dangerous world..
5 of my top 10 teachers below helped me get to my final decision over the past few years. Their words are powerful reminders of why we need to face our fears and embrace change. These are some of my favorite quotes:
- “The cave you fear entering may hold the light you seek.” — Rumi
- “All change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end.” — Robin Sharma
- “Everything that is fear cannot be love, and everything that is love cannot be fear.” — Dr. Wayne Dyer
- “Where your fear is, there is your task.” — Carl G. Jung
And one of my all-time favorites:
“To be fully self-conscious means that you’re perfectly aware of your limitations and how you might be hurt. And then to make the decision to move forward into the unknown and the land of the stranger anyways… That’s one of the secrets to a good life.” — Jordan B. Peterson.
When you live in a small place, you start to learn over the years that people will always come and go — yes; they do too in larger places — but on a small island it’s more apparent. There’s a ‘3 year mark’ we call it, where those who are coming from big cities will be done by 3 years — this has been proven time and again. Then there are some of us long-term residents, who after the ’10 year’ mark — or interestingly some at ‘7 years’, decide its time to go again. More recently, I know a few who have been here for over 25 years.. and who have started to pack up realizing that actually — they don’t want to live out their days on an island.
So what was that signal that it’s finally my turn?
Where was my ‘wake-up’ moment?
There never was for me. From the first month of settling in, I always knew I wouldn’t end my days here. It felt like a home, but not a permanent home for me, yet I was willing to go with the flow and see where it took me. Marriage, my son — the most incredible young man I’ve had the honor of raising, 2 different sets of careers, beautiful friendships formed… Lessons. All lessons — challenging, incredible, beautiful, awe-inspiring, heart-wrenching, painful, debilitating.. and finally — I think my most powerful recent lesson in one word: “Stagnancy.”
I’ve always made a deal with myself that no matter what, if that moment comes where life has become stagnant, it’s time to get up and get going again. That’s my reality, but it’s also become my sons’ reality after witnessing year after year and feeling the loss of friends leaving, as well as wanting to pursue that higher education in a field not offered where we are.
I love words and their meanings. I think in our daily use of them we often forget the power of the meaning behind 1 word and how it has a strong impact on us without realizing it. That word for me lately which I crave is:
- I crave it, because it’s in silence that I find answers and clarity.
- It’s in silence that I get to shut away the noise of the regular sounds of everyday life.
- It brings peace.
And it brings trust in the unknown.
