What If It Were Easy?

This past weekend, I experienced, without a doubt, the most hellacious move of my life. From running out of room in the moving truck and having to rent another to leading a caravan down the highway during a torrential thunderstorm to pulling over said caravan so I could pour the cat urine out of my cat’s carrier (with the cat still in it!), I thought for sure I was losing my mind. And that’s just a sampling of the three-day shit show.

By the time we had to sit for two hours in a parking lot waiting for someone to come pop the lock on the U-haul (yeah, we locked the key in the cab), I found myself saying things like, “And the hits just keep on comin’.” “What else could go wrong?” “This misery just won’t end.”

When I got a bit of space and clarity, I realized that, with each of those statements, I was essentially writing my own prescription and asking the universe to fill it. And fill it she did! I became a bit of a whirling dervish, extinguishing fires at every turn. 

As Melissa and I pulled into the driveway after a late lunch, I found myself wondering what the next fiasco would be. Oh no, no. I know if you look hard enough for something, you find it, so instead I said to Mis “let’s go for a walk around the corn field.” (Where we are living is a beautiful, 28-acre farm with breathtaking views).

As we strolled around, discovering beautiful grapevines and aromatic little flowers, I thought to myself, “What if it were easy?” What if, instead of expecting another blow, I simply expected the transition to be effortless. I’d much rather look for evidence of that!

This morning, as I prepared for my first client call, I felt grateful for my office being all set up (thanks, Melissa!), inspired by the views outside the window, and excited to get back to work.

A dear friend said to me, (click to tweet): “The best thing you can give change is time.”  Those nine little words gave me peace and permission — peace in knowing it’s natural to feel upside-down and inside-out right now, and permission to take however long I need to feel grounded again.

In the meantime, I’ll check in with myself regularly to see what I need, and do my best to deliver on it.

So how do you navigate change? Are you in the midst of it right now? Is a big shift on its way?

Whether major or minor, when you find yourself struggling to get by, stop and ask yourself, “What if it were easy?”

I’d love to hear your thoughts on all of this. Come talk with me in the comments below.

Until next week, keep taking those small steps to Live Out Loud.

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