In our Re-Vision Chats series, Stella invites us to reflect on our transitions, and how to navigate the uncertainty that surrounds them. They are scary and exciting at the same time. She shares about her early retirement and the process of unlearning the societal expectations around that, and finding her own way of defining the next chapter of her life. This involved finding a new anchor in herself in lieu of a role that previously defined her identity. She discovered new ways to elicit more of her multi-dimensionality and connectivity to life.

Stella talks about the calling in the different stages of our life. We come to see transitions as portals to hear new invitations from life. At this time, she has leaned in to being adventurous and awakening parts of herself that had lay dormant for a while. For this, she has looked to the past and to the future in a playful way. On the one hand, she asked herself how she lived through other transitions in her past. On the other hand, she engaged in the exercise of writing down 5 possible lives from this point onward. 

Stella invited us to use the transitions in our lives to increase our self-knowledge. For her, journaling was an important tool to connect to the nuances of this period. She wrote about past stages in her life to see threads that are relevant as she moves forward. This informed new initiatives she took on, such as volunteering for immigrant communities. She was surprised to find a feeling of home, a sense of belonging. This fed a deep need to be seen and accepted at this time of change, without any expectation of having it all figured out. A need to hear “I am here for whatever you are becoming”. 

The author William Bridges wrote a book called transitions, and he distinguishes three phases of transitions: the ending zone, the neutral zone, and the new beginning. Journaling around this model helps us map out where we are, and observe movement we might experience.

Hear the full conversation here: Re-Vision Chats series

Exercise:

Stop and reflect. Journal on the transition you are living. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Where are you? Is this where you want to be? What have you lost of yourself? What is now emerging that’s more important at this life stage?

• What are past events that shed light on important threads you could pay attention to at this time of transition?

• Write out 5 possible lives from this point onward.