When you move, your life is suspended, upside down, stressful, both exciting and sad. You know me a little by now and I always try to learn from whatever happens to me and see the creative side of it.
So here are my lessons out of the moving box:
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Everything happens for a reason:
I was on the verge of moving a while ago. I thought I had found the ideal house for me and my boys. When I showed up for the appointment, the visitor before me had ‘snatched’ the house in front of my nose. When I decided to move this time, I went online and saw this ad that had just been published. When I called to visit, an appointment was possible the next day. I signed the lease the day after. Everything happens for a reason. And sometimes the reason only becomes clear later, much later. Try to accept a setback, a disappointment. Because it usually means something else, something better is just around the corner.
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Go with the flow:
In uncertain times, it is difficult to control everything, do everything on your multiple lists, please everyone and be strong and happy at the same time. That’s okay. I repeat: that is totally okay! Go with the flow. Chill! Laugh. Cry. Do what you have to do. Do it for you. People understand. Many have been there themselves.
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Let someone else drive the truck.
You cannot (I repeat: you CAN NOT) do everything by yourself, always. Accept help. Expect help. And the Universe, in its mysterious ways, always sends something or someone around the bend to help you. Be open. Be vulnerable. Be appreciative and thankful. Let someone else take over the things you could very well do yourself, but probably badly.
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Less is more.
Moving is a great way to get rid of stuff – BEFORE you move! Declutter your wardrobe. Sort your books. Give away broken, unused furniture, appliances etc. Even if you are not moving, this should be a mandatory exercise once a year. Isn’t it called ‘spring cleaning’?
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A box a day, keeps the stress away.
Start preparing weeks in advance instead of cramming all the box packing into the last two days prior to the move. I packed about a box or two a day for weeks. Yes, it seemd like I was continously in packing mode, but it was never stressfull. It allowed for some careful planning, decluttering and labelling which made the move so much easier.
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It is as it is (says Flip).
Since everything happens for a reason, things are what they are and it is as it is. When the shit hit the fan I tried to understand, analyze, overthink EVERYTHING. The result? Constant migraine and none the wiser! Now I say to myself that things, situations, people are what they are. I look at them without thinking too much (well,…mostly and try to ‘go with the flow’. Because a tree is a tree, a horse is a horse and the situation is as it is.
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Everything happens FOR you, not TO you.
I learned this one from Christine Kane. And what a big lesson that was. Trying to understand why something is happening FOR you makes such a big difference than blaming the Universe for everything that happens TO you… Need I say more?
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Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.
Or: it ain’t over till the fat lady sings. The fat lady to me is the ‘Universe’ (or God, or your spiritual guru, or your mom, or whomever you worship). And when the Universe thinks you ‘got it’ (understood the message, moved on to where you need to be, learned the lesson, grew wiser…) it will let you know when ‘the end’ is. Trust in that! You can feel it.
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Have fun.
Don’t forget to sing, dance, roll in the grass, tickle your kids (let them tickle you), go for a long walk in the woods, lie in the grass and look at the clouds,… Don’t forget to live a little. Especially when life gives you lemons and you sure as hell don’t feel like making bloody lemonade, find a ‘valve’, an outlet, a balance to bring your spirits up again.
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Always have a bottle of bubbly in the fridge.
Because there are so many little moments to celebrate, people to thank, speeches to make,… Don’t forget them celebrations!