Embracing Change
Jake and I are embracing change in 2017—big change—as we have decided to move to the Big Island of Hawaii. We spent 2+ months on the island in 2016 and upon returning to our beloved New Mexico we realized we were different. Between us, we’ve lived in New Mexico for over 75 years and yet, it no longer felt like home.
Deciding to move, selling our beautiful home, uprooting our lives has not been an easy journey. But easy is no longer our primary desire. Stretching, growing, changing, expanding, exploring, and taking risks that make us both feel more alive rather than safe are now our goals.
Some of our motivation to move has been driven by watching our parents lives narrow down to their ultimate small deaths. Most people’s lives end this way. They choose safety and comfort and narrow their worlds down to a smaller and smaller experience. We don’t want to do that.
We’d like to step up to what energy we have left before it’s too late and do something exciting, adventurous, and life expanding.
This takes sacrifice
We are leaving behind a lot that we love—family and friends and a local following. Though we will still connect over the Internet, we’ll miss seeing them in the flesh. Nothing replaces a hug. But we’ve experienced a sweetening of all our relationships knowing that our time together is limited and richer as a result.
Yes, our time together and life is always limited but this move is waking us up to what most of us want to ignore and as a result, we are making what time we do have be far more precious.
We are leaving behind a beautiful home on over 17 acres, backed up by thousands of acres of Indian land and national forest. We are letting go of the home we creatively designed and built together, and poured our hearts into. And we are moving to a place where we’ll get far less for our money. And yet, despite the seeming difficulties and challenges, we continue to excite ourselves and look forward to our future.
Uncluttering our lives
We’ve especially enjoyed the uncluttering of our lives. We’re letting go of the years of collected things that we’ll never use but could not part with. Things that have gathered in closets, the attic and the storage shed, and we are freeing ourselves as we pass them on to thrift stores, family, friends and the like. Releasing this clutter has become a way of growing younger and more liberated, rather than hanging on to it all like some antiquated sense of ourselves.
Uncluttering and letting go includes grieving and feeling anxious about all we’re leaving as we step into the unknown. These feelings are all essential parts of choosing change and growth rather than safety. If the leaving weren’t difficult, maybe it wouldn’t be so meaningful.
In the big picture it feels wonderful to Zen up, step into the unknown, and take charge of our 3rd act rather than allow our lives to narrow down to nothing before our final letting go.
We’re taking a big leap and we’re happy for the journey.
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