An Ending or A Beginning?

One of my clients is closing his office.  Not exactly what he was planning to do this year, but that is what developed due to some changes in his business that caused financial uncertainty.  His professional and personal life was already moving in another direction, but he did not expect to close his office this soon.  At first the unexpected fluctuations of his business income worried him and he became agitated and anxious, but then he realized that his life was moving away from that sort of work anyway so he embraced the unexpected changes and chose to make bold, dramatic moves that propelled him into his next phase of life.

I admire his brave leap into the future and his excitement about the uncertainty that lies ahead.  Change has usually terrified me.  I clung to what was routine, predictable (if anything can be predictable) and safe, or what I thought was safe.  Fortunately, for several years now, I've been moving away from that limited and frightened view of life.  Every ending is a new beginning, but I sometimes forget or ignore that.  I think most of us concentrate on the ending part and overlook the new beginning that follows closely on its heels.  Our emphasis on what we are leaving behind overshadows all the possibilities in the future and while we gaze backwards at a closing door, we don't see all the doors opening on the path ahead.  Not every opportunity waits indefinitely for us.  If we don't act promptly and with confidence, the Universe assumes we are not ready, which obviously we aren't, and closes the door.  That door may or may not open again, but even if it does, it will be further down the road - a road that may be rougher and more challenging than it needed to be.

I saw my client welcome what was ahead, even when he did not know what that would be.  He made decisions swiftly and is now poised to close the door and walk into a future that is uncertain, but exciting and full of unknown possibilities.  To move forward boldly meant that first he had to be aware of the signs the Universe was sending him.   He chose not to fight the changes and embraced them instead, moving happily in the direction they led.  Now he is full of excitement and anticipation and is relieved to be releasing so many responsibilities that had been weighing him down.

Watching him reminds me to look for signs of changes and shifts, to stay open to unknown possibilities, to remain optimistic and courageous, to look forward with aniticipation and not backwards with regret or sadness.  My client reminds me of a dog I saw today that was soaked by a sudden rainshower.  Just as that dog shook off the rain and trotted forward without a worry about the wetness that had taken him by surprise, my client shook of the unexpected financial storm and is trotting down the path to his next life adventure.  His action is bold, brave and inspirational.  Shouldn't we all strive to embrace change with that same sense of adventure?