I've been undergoing many opportunities to learn life lessons in a variety of arenas. For example,  I've moved three times in 15 months and am in the process once again of looking for a new place to live and work. These moves weren't my preference and I was down right ornery about the whole deal. I'd just get settled and then the property owner wanted to move back into the space, a housemate's boyfriend would be moving in or the house situation was temporary from the get go. This was really challenging for a woman who's lived in one place for over 20 years and another for over 15 years.

I'm a change agent for people and businesses so my days are spent creating a safe environment for positive changes to occur and showing the value of such changes.These are often emotion-filled situations because, like me, people don't want to let go of what they have, even if it's no longer serving them. Because I help people process their feelings and fears about change,  I find it helpful  to have a stable home base so all areas of my life aren't in flux all the time. I like having a sanctuary where I can de-stress and rejuvenate my spirit. In other words, I like to apply all the stress management techniques that I teach.

As a result, moving three times in 15 months was a challenge for me. I didn't want to let go of the comfortable living situations I had. Prior to each move, I intuitively  knew it was time to move on but I still tried to hold on tight to what existed, fearing that things would get worse instead of better. Each time I've moved, my living situation got better. The amount of space I had increased, I had access to larger and larger outdoor living spaces with more and more flowers. And, in my current situation, I got two four-legged playmates who make sure that I take time to play and laugh at their antics. As I remind myself of  these occurrences,  I'm approaching this new move with a different attitude — one of wonder and even anticipation. I wonder what joy-filled surprises await me? I wonder how this move will help me to evolve on my journey of self-discovery and self-actualization?  I wonder how my new living situation will be better than my current one?
 
Lessons learned from moving: Stay in the present moment, focus on positive potentials in new situations and let go of any attachment to how things were so you can embrace how much better things can be.

During that same 15 month period, my right arm wasn't fully functional and this was very challenging because I'm right-handed. I could only raise my arm waist high. The simplest of chores were difficult. Blow drying my hair, getting things off the top shelf in a closet, doing laundry, driving my car, carrying groceries home and then unpacking them all reminded me that I had/have a physical limitation. Not to mention doing all the packing and unpacking associated with moving.

I'm very independent so asking others for assistance was challenging for me. I wondered what they'd expect in return or, even worse, if they'd turn down my request for help. Here's another time when my fears were so different from the reality of the situation. People wanted to help me. It made them feel good about themselves because their actions were very appreciated and  that's the only thing they wanted in return.  I even had a friend I hadn't seen in many years show up to help me pack. She called me from my front porch telling me she wanted to help and asking me to open my front door so she could start being of assistance right then. I was blown away by the generosity of that offer of time and manual labor.

In addition, my needing to ask for help made me more human in their eyes. I was a student of life as well as a teacher of the same. I was a work in progress just like they were.  I didn't have things all together in my life. I couldn't do things all by myself. I needed to be the recipient of help as well as the giver of the same. I really didn't know it all nor was I able to do everything.

Lesson learned: Don't let your fear of rejection prevent you from asking for assistance because it creates a lose/lose situation. You miss out on the help you need and the other person misses out on the opportunity to feel generous, competent and valued.

So the overarching lessons I learned is that I have to let got of the old to make room for the new. I had to let go of places to live to find even better ones. I had to let go of old, limiting beliefs to have them replaced by more life-affirming ones. And the emptiness created by letting go doesn't last forever. It's a temporary situation that, in the long term, allows you to create an even more joy-filled life.