Change

Hello wonderful readers! Happy Labor Day!

I hope you are all enjoying your Labor Day weekend! I contemplated skipping this week’s post or posting on Tuesday, but I decided I would stick to my schedule even though it’s a different week. This leads me to my topic for this week’s blog post titled change.

Before I go into my discussion of change, I wanted to share this week’s winner of the #MsMinimalistChallenge. Congratulations to Alyssa S. for being the second week’s winner of the challenge.

Week 3: We are moving to another spot in our closet that might have some excess items that we can part with and organize them in the process. If you are anything like my husband, you might enjoy shoes; lots and lots of shoes. Shoes are a necessary item with our wardrobe, and in our daily lives, but they are also items that can be kept for too long. Without encouraging you to go to the store and buy new shoes, I wanted to share a few fun facts about shoes:

-On average, a woman owns 27 pairs of shoes and a man owns 12 pairs.
(http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1169863,00.html)
-An average American woman will spend $20,557 in her adult life on shoes. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2629864/A-nation-shoe-addicts-How-average-American-woman-spend-20K-footwear-lifetime-fifth-never-worn.html)
-Socks and shoes are the #1 requested items in homeless shelters.

If you were shocked by the amount of shoes the average person owns, I ask you to go into your own closet and look through your current shoe collection. Are you someone who has a shoe fetish? Do you have a pair of shoes that doesn’t fit right or you don’t like so you aren’t wearing them? Or are you someone that likes to keep shoes for maybe the non-existent day you might need them again?

This week’s challenge is to go into your closet and find one pair of shoes that can be donated. As you are going through your shoes, I ask you to take them all out of your closet, take a photo of your entire foot ware collection, share how many shoes you currently own, and then organize your shoes back in your closet. Remember to find ONE pair that can be donated and used by someone else in need.

Enter the challenge by posting your photo on social media and use #MsMinimalistYogini for your chance to win this week’s prize! Join the challenge anytime and encourage your friends to join in on the challenge.

Change:

Many of us are experiencing change in some way shape or form. We just experienced the changing of months from August to September, and depending where you are in the world, the seasons have begun to shift (at least here in Wisconsin they have begun to change). As we make the transition from summer to fall, we instantly feel and see macro changes occurring such as: the temperature begins to drop, leaves begin to change colors, the sun begins to set earlier, in turn we get less vitamin D, a new school year starts, the fall and Halloween decorations start to come out in stores (and possibly our own homes), we switch from iced morning drinks to hot morning drinks, and everything pumpkin comes out, which I am NOT complaining about. While these could be some large changes you are experiencing, don’t overlook the minor, but not less important, changes that are occurring. We can begin to feel anxious or overwhelmed with the fact that things are changing. We can even become a little down or sad that one time has come to an end and a new, possibly scary, beginning has started. 

These feelings you are experiencing is not something to brush under the rug or turn away from. I ask you to simply notice the thoughts, feelings, and sensations that are arising during this time. It can be very easy to cling to any of these things, but I ask you to try and simply notice them. If you do feel yourself clinging to a thought, idea, or feeling, take a deep breath, accept that you are holding onto it, and exhale to release it.

I know change is very scary, I am not going to sit here and try and convince you otherwise, but change is a beautiful aspect of life. As one time ends, it allows space and room for something new to begin. It allows us to create a new mindset or attitude toward this changing time. Try and view this time of change as a clean slate or a chance to set new goals. I personally am a goal setter, so I take a little extra time to evaluate the goals I have set at the beginning of the year and see how far along I am at accomplishing them. If there is a goal I have not been able to accomplish yet, I try and change my short term goals to compliment and strive for the larger long-term goals. If you are not a goal setter yourself, which is perfectly fine, I would urge you to take this time and write all of the positives that can come out of this change or transition. I can even help you start your list of positives by providing you with one: I am alive to experience this change or transition.

The reason I chose the topic of change for this week’s post is due to the fact that I personally have a great deal of change occurring in my life. Some of the changes I am very excited for, and others I am extremely nervous about. For starters, I will be returning to work part time as of tomorrow for the first time in almost six full months. The reason I have been off of work for so long is due to my recent diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). It has taken me from my first episode in November of last year, until now to heal. I would love to share that I am 100% back to normal, but I am not. I do have some lingering symptoms which is the main reason I am nervous about my upcoming transition, but I do believe it is my time to try and return. Even though this transition is very scary for me right now, I recall something that I shared last week in my yoga post; everything is temporary. I will not be living in this change forever and I will not always have these exact feelings that I am experiencing right now. 

This transition and change will occur whether I want it to or not, and I know time spent worried about it is time wasted. I am viewing this change as a positive because I am able to return to some type of routine; on a bigger more important level, my doctors believe me to be so much improved and stable that I am able to return to my job. I work for an amazing company. One that has been supportive throughout my entire recovery process. I am blessed to be able to return to work for them now that I am in a better place health wise. I know this is not the norm with many companies, but I am blessed to work for one of the best with the most amazing, supportive people. I would not be able to make this transition without their support, and for that, I will be forever grateful. I could spend my time worrying about the “what-if’s” and what could possibly go wrong, but I do not believe that is a constructive way to use my time at this moment. Instead, I have turned my questions to: how am I going to succeed in this transition? How am I going to be better than I was yesterday? Both health wise, and as an employee.

Another large transition I have been experiencing is my amazing husband, Trevor, has started coaching football at Lakeland. This has been a dream of his ever since he finished his football career and he is now pursuing his dream. This is a large transition, but a positive one for both him and I, because, as some of you know, being a coach, for any sport, is time consuming. Trevor began coaching a few weeks back in August and the season goes until mid-November, or longer if they continue to win, which I fully expect them to. While Trevor is at practice, I have been finding ways to fill my free time in a productive way. This transition is still occurring for us, but it is an amazing thing to witness your loved one chasing and fulfilling their dream.

Trevor and I have many more transitions coming our way such as becoming an aunt and an uncle (possibly) this month, friends and family are getting married, and I am volunteering to teach yoga at Lakeland for the students, staff, and faculty. These are just the transitions we are aware of. I am sure there will be many more occurring in the future, some change we can plan on and some change we can’t.

As you experience the changes and transitions occurring in your life, how can you be more present and experience them in their entirety? How can you allow negative thoughts or feelings about these transitions go to create more space for the positives?

Thank you all so much for reading this week’s blog post. I appreciate each and every one of you taking this time and spending your Labor Day with me.

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Namasté.