Vicarious Rocky

Seems lots of people I know are going through huge transitions right now. I am proud to know them all. To name a few:

Holly finished the comps and coursework for her PhD! She moves now into a new era of scholarship. Is she ready? Is anyone? Can she finish? Can she enjoy the process, the LONG non-sprinty process, of writing her dissertation? Has she learned enough about the scholarship and writing and herself to complete this journey with her sanity intact?

Jamie lost his job. He spoke out against leadership there and was labeled a "combatant." He now starts a journey of self exploration. What kind of employment does he want? Is it about getting back "in" somewhere and using his gifts? Is it a redefinition of desires?

Kaye is getting married. Leslie's Facebook says: 8 days. :) The combining of families, of loves, of dysfunction and futures. Sorting that tangle of personalities and agendas and intentions that circle around the party and the life making that follows is a transition I remember and don't envy.

Seems to me transitions are never smooth and we rarely get to prepare for them. We mostly get thrust into change. And even if we had time to write a manifesto or blueprint for how it should all unfold, I think most of us would still patchwork our way through to a new stability. But, as uncomfortable as transition is, the beauty and excitement of the future's potential lies within that discomfort and not in the new status quo we eventually reach. That island of "next" we're all swimming towards is one in a never ending chain.

I am rambling and killing metaphors, but what I want to say to all the transitioners out there -- good luck with the swim, I wish you calm seas, cool water, and happy thoughts about your new destination. And my advice, not that I am worthy of dolling it out, is enjoy the peaceful moments as they come and remember they will go away. And they will come again.

Love to you all! Rocky