by Tracie Nichols
What if, by
holding our questions a little longer, we saw answers where we least expected
them…” Victoria Kindred Keziah
As day
transits to night, I’m wrestling with words for this article about transition,
specifically about the possibilities found in times of transition. I’ve been
resisting the urge to “power through” and reach the end. Holding my questions a
little longer, looking for a bit of unexpected inspiration.
I notice that
outside my window, low-angle sunlight flickers through sycamore leaves teased
into movement by cooling daytime air. I’ve held my questions until I reached
this transitional moment of the day. There are certain things - certain
qualities - that can only exist in transitional zones like this late summer
evening. Things like golden sunlight, rising breezes, and cricket song.
When we’re
talking about transitions in our lives, the same principle holds. There are
certain possibilities that only exist in the complex both-and state between
problem and solution, ending and beginning, here and there.
Biologists
call the transitional space between two distinct states of being an ecotone. In
nature, these are places like a stand of shrubs between forest and field, or a
reed bed between land and water. In our lives, these are the uncomfortable
in-transition places between situations like being partnered and being single,
or between one career and another.
Often we
only notice ecotones in passing, if at all, our goal being to get out of the
discomfort of between by moving quickly from here to there.
“Possibility
only lives on the edge.” “Presence is the only way to walk the edge...”
Margaret J. Wheatley
Translated
from Greek, “ecotone” means “house of tension.” While tension can equate to
unhelpful stress, it also means the productive, supportive kind of tension that
our muscles exert to hold our bodies upright (without which we’d be floppy
floor-dwellers), or the motivating tension of curiosity and anticipation.
To find the
productive tension that opens us to possibility in our personal ecotones, we
need to approach life transitions mindfully, bringing our full presence to the
dance.
Then tension
suspends us, holds us upright so we can notice possibilities being created by
our here and there rubbing together sparking new ideas and
opening paths we never would have seen had we only focused on reaching there.
The next
time life tosses transition into your path, I invite you to bring your whole
presence to the experience, be willing to surrender to healthy tension, and
notice both what is and the unique potential of what could be.
Tracie Nichols, MA, is a Certified Career
Services Provider with a Master’s degree in Human and Organizational
Transformation and a passion for helping people explore their in-between
places. She offers individual career coaching and strategy sessions, as well as
classes helping people create a meaningful, enjoyable work life. Learn more
about Tracie at tracienichols.com or connect with her at tracie@tracienichols.com or 215-527-5457.
I needed this today more than you know. I love the idea of holding the tension, being present and surrendering to this tension, allowing it to do its work, instead of trying to soothe it or turn away from it. A lesson it seems the universe is trying to teach me at the moment. Thank you. - April
ReplyDeleteThank YOU April, for dipping into your courage and inner wisdom and being willing to explore the potentials of productive tension. And, for listening to what the universe is offering.
DeleteIn solidarity,
Tracie