The Truth About Change, Part 2
Truth #2
The monumental task before you will be accomplished one step at a time.
On June 7th, as I closed my journal, I cried. I had just listed 33 major areas that needed to be addressed over the summer to be ready for the change coming September 1. I felt completely overwhelmed. I could see no way to accomplish all those tasks with the time, energy, and money I had available to me, and stay “in the flow” as we say. I could push, I could force, I could hold my breath and dive in, but I could not imagine how I could ride calm and relaxation to greet September with a smile.
A week after that June journaling, I sat with a trusted advisor who knows how to listen. I explained my situation, sniffed back a few more tears, and got quiet. Like a bolt of lightning, the realization rose that the calendar could flip to September without all 33 items in place, and the world would not end. Even writing this it seems it would have been obvious at the time, but it was not. It took that fresh thought blowing in to bring my breath back to its full flow and allow my feet to land. In fact, I sat back in my chair and sighed. I smiled.
Over the next three months, I waded in and worked on one thing at a time. I worked on the task before me, not any other, and I did this over and over. I did not fret about how much had been accomplished. I never looked at that list in my journal. I simply took the action that was there to take in the moment I had to work on it.
In the week before I left for Germany at the end of July to be with my teacher Yogini Kaliji, I applied myself with the focus it always seems to take to leave town. I spent long hours at the computer with massive spreadsheets, connecting tendrils winding their way through lists, deadlines, updates and details. The admin team of Ann and Jess who were working with me kept pace. I felt carried by excitement, beginning to see how all the components were going to connect. It was hard work, without a doubt. It was filled with energy and I felt guided and supported. Members who have been receiving the transition updates are seeing the result of many of those July hours and August rollouts.
This morning, September 8th, I opened to the journal entry I’d written in June. I moved down the list and counted. Amazing. Fully 30 of the 33 shifts I had listed were achieved this summer. I did not think that was possible in June. I did not believe I could stay present and move all those big pieces and track the little pieces too. I got here by letting go of the idea that everything had to happen. I did what I could, one step at a time, with a steady mind. That is all that is ever asked of you, and it is the only way to move 30 mountains in one summer.
Author Theresa Shay is the Founding Director of TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania. She can be reached at theresa(at)PennsylvaniaYoga.com.